Wiretaps are an issue that affect every person in this country. No matter how much we refuse to admit it, we depend on telephone services more and more as we get more technologically advanced. The issue of telephone privacy becomes greater and greater every day as our telephone technology advances. Wiretaps are devices that are being used more often by law enforcement to capture criminals, but there are cases when the actions of law enforcement agencies are not protecting the public, but overstepping their boundaries and intruding into people's private lives. I feel that law enforcement agencies have indeed overstepped their boundaries and delved into the private lives of America's citizens. New legislation passed by the government could even aid to the problem and make it even bigger than it already is.
There are at least two sides to every controversy, and the issue of wiretaps brings more than two sides to mind. However, the two main arguments that surround wiretaps are privacy and protection. The issue with privacy has been escalating more and more in the past few years. The government have been wiretapping phone for the past two decades. In 1968 the wiretap act was passed. It required a judge issued wiretap order before the police or government could tap your phone lines but, according to “civil liberties organization“ the government has been known to break this law and spy on communications without going to a judge and receiving a court order, usually in the name of national security. Since September 11, 2001 the National Security Agency (NSA) has been conducting a massive and illegal program to wiretap the phone calls of millions of ordinary Americans without warrants, hoping to discover terrorists. It is impossible to just...
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...onclusion. A compromise must be made between law enforcement, cell phone companies, and the people of the United States. Wiretaps are a tool that is essential to law enforcement officials. However, currently there are privacy issues that surface in reference to keeping the authorities out of the private lives of this nation's citizens. It is essential that we provide essential means for law enforcement agencies to successfully tap the wires of criminals, but also respect the privacy in which American’s are given by the constitution. With that said I am most worried about law enforcement officers abusing the power that they have and overstepping the bounds of law enforcement and into the realm of citizens' privacy. I strongly believe that this topic will surface in the future and politicians will make it a priority for things that needs to be fixed in this country.
Communication surveillance has been a controversial issue in the US since the 1920's, when the Supreme Court deemed unwarranted wiretaps legitimate in the case of Olmstead v United States. Since telephone wires ran over public grounds, and the property of Olmstead was not physically violated, the wiretap was upheld as lawful. However, the Supreme Court overturned this ruling in 1967 in the landmark case of Katz v United States. On the basis of the fourth amendment, the court established that individuals have the right to privacy of communication, and that wiretapping is unconstitutional unless it is authorized by a search warrant. [Bowyer, 142-143] Since then, the right to communication privacy has become accepted as an integral facet of the American deontological code of ethics. The FBI has made an at least perfunctory effort to respect the public's demand for Internet privacy with its new Internet surveillance system, Carnivore. However, the current implementation of Carnivore unnecessarily jeopardizes the privacy of innocent individuals.
The aftereffects of the September 11, 2001 attacks led to Congress passing sweeping legislation to improve the United States’ counterterrorism efforts. An example of a policy passed was Domestic Surveillance, which is the act of the government spying on citizens. This is an important issue because many people believe that Domestic Surveillance is unconstitutional and an invasion of privacy, while others believe that the government should do whatever is possible in order to keep the citizens safe. One act of Domestic Surveillance, the tracking of our phone calls, is constitutional because it helps fight terrorism, warns us against potential threats, and gives US citizens a feeling of security.
The NSA is a U.S. intelligence agency responsible for providing the government with information on inner and foreign affairs, particularly for the prevention of terrorism and crime. The NSA maintains several database networks in which they receive private information on American citizens. The agency has access to phone calls, emails, photos, recordings, and backgrounds of practically all people residing in the United States. Started in 1952 by President Harry Truman, the NSA is tasked with the global monitoring and surveillance of targeted individuals in American territory. As part of the growing practice of mass surveillance in the United States, the agency collects and stores all phone records of all American citizens. People argue that this collected information is very intrusive, and the NSA may find something personal that someone may not have wanted anyone to know. While this intrusion's main purpose is to avoid events of terrorism, recent information leaks by Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor, show that the agency may actually be infringing upon the rights of the American citizen. Whether people like it or not, it seems that the NSA will continue to spy on the people of the United States in an attempt to avert acts of terrorism. Although there are many pros and cons to this surveillance of American citizens, the agency is ultimately just doing its job to protect the lives of the people. Unless a person is actually planning on committing a major crime, there is no real reason for citizens to worry about the NSA and it's invasion of our privacy. The agency is not out to look for embarrassing information about its citizens, rather, only searches for and analyzes information which may lead to the identification of a targe...
It is becoming very clear that the world is becoming overpowered with electronic devices, and it is no one but the people’s fault for the privacy loss that has and will continue to happen. The amount one spends on their phone or computer a day could be described as outrageous and to some a waste of time. People wonder why privacy is becoming an issue and it is clearly because the more technical we get with technology, the more power the government has over the people. Many people do not even realize that they are being watched. When they are on their electronic device they have no idea that the government can very easily be monitoring what they are doing. This is very similar to what happens in the
A short background on the laws concerning surveillance will help clear up some misconceptions on the NSA. Back in 1968, the Wiretap Act protected citizens from the government listening to their phone call...
The NSA has been secretly ordered to eavesdrop by the Bush administration after the 9/11 terrorist attack. The base of where the NSA has been operating their wiretapping agenda is in Bluff Dale, Utah the building sprawls 1,500,000 square feet and possess the capacity to hold as much as five zeta bytes of data it has cost almost $2,000,000,000. The act of spying over the USA citizens even though they are suspicious is a threat to the people’s privacy and the privacy of other countries’ members are being infringed on by the NSA by the act of wiretapping. The action of wiretapping violates laws for privacy, like the Bill of Right’s Amendment Four which says “Every subject has a right to be secure from all unreasonable searches, and seizures of his person, his houses, his papers, and all his possessions”. The wiretapping controversy has caused the panic and hysteria of the citizens of the USA and USA’s allies. This panic and hysteria has troubled the government by resulting to mistrust and concern against them by both groups. The panic effect of the NSA wiretapping has caused many people such as journalist to have their freedom of speech to be restricted in fear of the NSA to stamp them as terrorist and according to the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights that is an infringement of the people’s right of freedom of expression consists of the rights to freedom of speech, press, assembly and to petition the government for a redress of grievances, and the implied rights of association and belief.
I understand that you have tried to speak to Sandy about your feelings but she has just accused you of not wanting to listen or be there for her. Although, it will be difficult it is important push the topic and share your true feelings with Sandy. I truly believe that by disclosing your feelings it will lead to a more balanced friendship.
The recent terrorists attacks of 9/11 has brought security to an all-time high, and more importantly brought the NSA to the limelight. Facts don 't change however, terrorist attacks are not common as history has shown. So what has domestic surveillance actually protected? There are no records to date that they have stopped any harm from being caused. If it is well known by every American that they are being watched, then why would a terrorist with the intention of harming use these devices to talk about their heinous acts? The real criminals are smarter than this, and it has shown with every attack in our history. Petty acts of crime are not what domestic surveillance should be used for. Terrorism has been happening for decades before any electronics were introduced, and even in third world countries where electronics are not accessible. The government needs a different way to locate these terrorists, rather than spy on every innocent human being. Andrew Bacevich states in his article The Cult of National Security: What Happened to Check and Balances? that until Americans set free the idea of national security, empowering presidents will continue to treat us improperly, causing a persistent risk to independence at home. Complete and total security will never happen as long as there is malicious intent in the mind of a criminal, and sacrificing freedoms for the false sense of safety should not be
It's the stuff that spy novels are made of and calls to mind popular authors such as Ian Flemming, John LeCarre’, and Tom Clancy. Recent news articles about the National Security Agency’s (NSA) electronic surveillance data-mining programs targeting US citizens are so far-fetched they read like good espionage thrillers. Unfortunately, these recent reports seem to be true based upon information from several whistleblowers including William Binney, Russell Tice and Edward Snowden. These brave individuals, who stepped forward risking their reputations, careers and personal safety, revealed that the NSA has engaged in wiretapping, monitoring, and recording phone calls, emails, text messages, and social media of US citizens. The United States government has been abridging citizens' rights to privacy and violating the fourth amendment of the constitution through these types of covert operations.
Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves and thereby express themselves selectively. In contrary, the privacy of American citizens are being violated in many ways. The novel The 1984, the article Long Beach Police to Use 400 Cameras Citywide to Fight Crime, and the article That's No Phone. That's My Tracker all conclude that our privacy is being violated in more than one way. Our privacy is being revealed in ways such as the “telescreen”, which can compare to our cellular devices as well as cameras and many people can't feel safe with their life and surroundings .
Cell phone privacy has become quite an issue over the past few years now that cell phone use is prevalent among most of the world. There have been many articles and news stories circling around about how the government is tracking every move on our cell phone. This includes the government and other entities recording our conversations. Many people view this as a violation of privacy because their expressed thoughts and feelings are being recorded and listened to by someone somewhere. Another ethical concern that this brings about is the violation of the privacy protections of the fourth amendment. Law enforcements officials have the right to access personal location data without giving probable cause to the judge (ACLU 1). While this can create an unnerving feeling I believe the government has taken these measures to keep the country safe. If the government can prevent...
We can also have a different approach, which will make phone tapping a good thing for the community. The government uses phone tapping to investigate some people in order to keep the safety of the people or the community in a good condition. For example, if the government knew before the incident on 9/11 though the conversation of the terrorist, they would have saved a lot more people who died not knowing that they were targeted.
In the United States high schools dealing with student’s privacy are becoming more of a huge problem and more students are feeling that schools are validating their privacy rights. In recent discussions of teen privacy in school, is whether if schools go overboard sometimes and feel they can search the student’s because they are using school property or are on school property. Some people feel that students do need more privacy from their schools because they need their privacy just like everyone else, and with this more reasonability they will have to get them ready when they leave school. On the other hand, some think that by giving more privacy to the student’s more poor decisions would come out of it than strong ones. Students that have
In this technology driven era, I question what effect cell phones are having on our lives as American citizens? To investigate this, I read two articles. The first reading was “Mobile Phone Tracking Scrutinized” by Nikki Swartz originally published in the Information Management Journal for March/April 2006, and the second reading was “Reach out and Track Someone” by Terry J. Allen, originally published by In These Times on May 15, 2006. In her article, Swartz questions the legality of using a cell phone’s GPS system as a tracking device in situations when crimes are involved. She argues the potential violation of Fourth Amendment rights and describes loopholes our government avoids when the data is as a surveillance device. In her article, “Reach Out and Track Someone”, Allen shows the conspiracy theorist’s view of cell phone data tracking use. She suggests the government uses of warrantless wiretapping, and argues the communications companies and government have been involved in questionable activities (p1). Swartz and Allen question the government’s practices using cell phone data; Swartz sees the issue as practical is some cases, where Allen sees an overt violation of privacy. Both of the articles brought up two important questions. How do we define our expectation of privacy, and when does the government’s need take precedence, and even violate an individual’s expectation of privacy?
Government Surveillance today has changed from what it used to be. Technology has expanded through the past several decades and the government’s monitoring abilities have also expanded tremendously. Since the September 11, 2001 9/11 terrorist attacks, government surveillance has become more a part of everyday life. Government surveillance is said to help in efforts of capturing terrorists and stopping terrorist attacks before they even happen. But how much of our civil liberties are we giving up in order to maybe help capture some terrorists. The rapidly advancing technology of today and a more globalizing culture has made privacy and civil liberties come more into the forefront of our views. After about nine years of unprecedented spending and growth, the result is that the government surveillance system put into place to keep the United States safe, is so massive that its effectiveness is becoming questionable.