NSA Security and Privacy Hollee Candido Thesis 4.28.14 Safety or freedom? That is the question the American people have to decide. With the new release of information regarding the NSA, or national security agency, it is clear that we cannot have one with the other. The NSA is, and continues to, take away our constitutional rights in the name of our safety. After 9/11 there was a huge pull towards safety. The nation was shaken and afraid, we needed protection. But where has that protection gotten us? The price it came at was our constitutional rights, and its time for the American people to reassess the situation and decide whether or not they’ve changed their minds. The government has done a good job of proving that we cannot have both freedom and safety, and now its time to chose which is more important to us as a nation. The NSA is a United States intelligence agency first created in 1952 by President Truman. Its purpose is to fight and prevent terrorist efforts, operating under the Department of Defense. In 2013 a NSA contractor named Edward Snowden released information to the public that showed the NSA was collecting citizen cell phone data, as well as other personal data, without their knowledge. The NSA’s statement, regarding their recording of personal information, was that it was a necessary action to prevent and stop terrorist organizations. Up until about a year ago, the NSA’s surveillance on the American people and its collection of their personal records was unknown. But whistle blower Edward Snowden changed that. Edward Snowden was a NSA contractor who stole a trove of the programs classified documents and leaked them. Snowden first went to the Guardian, a British newspaper, with his informatio... ... middle of paper ... ...nt collect the bulk data. However, the data is still getting collected. As a nation that was founded on the right to freedom, we have journeyed a long way in the wrong direction. We have found loopholes and amended our laws, making them less and less about freedom each time. The Patriot Act in the first place should never have been passed, as it takes away the majority of the American people’s rights. Because the law was made after 9/11 people were in a panic and wanted security, but it seems, by the amount of people enraged at the government for collecting their information, that this is no longer the case. It’s time for the American people to take back their rights and stop letting their constitution be violated by their government. Given the strong reactions about the NSA’s illegal activities, it appears that there needs to be a reassessment: safety or freedom?
Many would typically conclude that there is a trade-off between basic liberty and safety. In today's society, technology has been a predominant part of our lives that gives us the freedom to say and speak freely. But when our sense of trust in the liberty we live in is broken it breaks our sense of security. A recent example of this can be seen when the government collects data from our phone calls and text messages. The government claims to collect personal information in an effort to protect ourselves from criminals and terrorists. This idea should be rejected against the masses because our own personal security should not be violated and the liberty to text and say what we want should not be looked into. Liberation is not something we should take for granted. Liberation is a commodity people in history fought for and die for. Liberation is the power to act, speak, right and do as one pleases. Liberation should make us feel secure in a nation that is supposed to protect us and our rights and privacies. When we give someone information to convey our personal information, that's not just a violation are on our personal lives but I freedom of speech. We give the government permission to read what you typed and listen to what we say. We give up our own personal liberties to gain a temporary
How would you feel if everything you did on the internet, every text you sent, and every call you made was seen by someone? That is what the NSA is doing right now. According to Wikipedia, the National Security Agency is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence.[1] They have been a controversial topic since the 1970s when it was revealed that they had been wiretapping Americans’ telephones. Their surveillance has only grown since then, even though most Americans disagree with it. [2] The NSA’s domestic surveillance is unconstitutional, ineffective, and a violation of privacy that needs to be stopped.
The National Security Agency or NSA for short is a United States federal government intelligence organization that is used for global monitoring and collecting data. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush implemented the NSA’s domestic spying program to conduct a range of surveillance activities inside the United States. There has been a lot of controversy surrounding this program as it allows the NSA to tap into the public’s phone calls, cameras, internet searches, text messages, and many other mediums to seek out individuals that may be potential threats to the security of the general public. Many individuals say that the tactics used by the NSA are unconstitutional as they invade people’s privacy. This is primarily
Our nation seems as if it is in a constant battle between freedom and safety. Freedom and security are two integral parts that keep our nation running smoothly, yet they are often seen conflicting with one another. “Tragedies such as Pearl Harbor, 9/11 and the Boston Marathon bombings may invoke feelings of patriotism and a call for unity, but the nation also becomes divided, and vulnerable populations become targets,” (Wootton 1). “After each attack a different group or population would become targets. “The attack on Pearl Harbor notoriously lead to Japanese Americans being imprisoned in internment camps, the attacks on 9/11 sparked hate crimes against those who appeared to be Muslim or Middle Eastern,” (Wootton 1). Often times people wind up taking sides, whether it be for personal freedoms or for national security, and as a nation trying to recover from these disasters we should be leaning on each other for support. Due to these past events the government has launched a series of antiterrorist measures – from ethnic profiling to going through your personal e-mail (Begley 1). Although there are times when personal freedoms are sacrificed for the safety of others, under certain circumstances the government could be doing more harm than good.
Edward Snowden is America’s most recent controversial figure. People can’t decide if he is their hero or traitor. Nevertheless, his leaks on the U.S. government surveillance program, PRISM, demand an explanation. Many American citizens have been enraged by the thought of the government tracing their telecommunication systems. According to factbrowser.com 54% of internet users would rather have more online privacy, even at the risk of security (Facts Tagged with Privacy). They say it is an infringement on their privacy rights of the constitution. However, some of them don’t mind; they believe it will help thwart the acts of terrorists. Both sides make a good point, but the inevitable future is one where the government is adapting as technology is changing. In order for us to continue living in the new digital decade, we must accept the government’s ability to surveil us.
The NSA and U.S. government sifting through our private information is but a small inconvenience that we must sacrifice in order to protect our own freedom and safety. Domestic Surveillance roots back to the 1910’s, where the assassination of President McKinley, created a Bureau of Investigation that would trace the efforts of the Communists attempting an uprising in America. This would be the foundings behind Domestic Surveillance in America, and would continue on after World War II where the government created the NSA and CIA, with the main purposes
...vil rights and losing protection. Protection is more important but unnecessary spying should not be tolerated. “The sad truth is that most Americans have already lost the battle when it comes to keeping personal information absolutely private.”( Lee, M.Dilascio, Tracey M.4).
In the past few years the National Security Agency has been all over the news, and not in a good way. Former contractor of the National Security Edward Snowden leaked classified documents to several media outlets on such a scale the world took notice. The day the world learned about the Prism program among others was June, 5, 2013 when Ed Snowden gave the specifics of the programs to The Guardian, and the Washington Post. Ed Snowden turned those secrets over as a member of the NSA but fled the country before the leaks so he would not be imprisoned by the authorities. Immediately after the leaks Ed Snowden became infamous with around the clock watch as to what country would grant his asylum, he currently resides in a Moscow airport pending appeal (Staff, 2013). He claimed he “did not want to live in a society like this” that’s why he decided to turn over states secret for all the world to see (Staff, 2013). Now that you know the man behind the leaks it is time that you find out about the program, and the reach and impact it really had.
... punish those responsible for the attacks and to protect against any similar attacks” (Doyle, The USA PATRIOT Act: A Legal Analysis, page 2). Sense the new laws were out into effect, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding it. Several questions have been posed as to whether or not the Act was giving too much power to government law enforcement. With the law now leaving room for open investigations, spying, and even wiretapping, people are wondering if things have been taken too far. Interest groups fighting to protect our civil liberties are arguing that we have passed the point of keeping our country safe from outside terrorism, but are now compromising our basic civil rights as Americans, and as humans for that matter. Although many revisions have been proposed, the USA Patriot Act still stands, and continues to raise question to the governments authority.
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”-Benjamin Franklin. We live in an age where governments invade the private lives of its citizens in the name of safety. Ironically, anyone who displaying a hint of paranoia when it comes to government surveillance or secrecy is automatically labeled a conspiracy theorist or a kook. It seems that in the U.S., it has become frowned upon to believe that our government would ever infringe on our rights, unintentionally or deliberately. After all, they can’t, it says so in the constitution! But, alas, it turns out “Big Brother” has been very busy the past decade. It seems as though every year new government scandals arise, from cover ups to spying on U.S. citizens. Law enforcement and government agencies are slowly finding “loopholes” through problematic areas of the constitution, with little regard for citizens’ rights. It is our duty as citizens, to not tolerate violations of the law that our nation was founded upon. By examining history and other countries’ policies regarding privacy and freedoms, it becomes clear that if these breaches of our rights are allowed to go on, we will be living in a country of fear and oppression.
However, there was concern amongst citizens about a section of the Patriot Act that allowed wire taps and potential Fourth Amendment violations regarding unwarranted searches of the internet and emails. The worry that Americans do not want their privacy invaded by the government remains legitimate. This part of the act is less restrictive on the government in that it allows a much wider span of searches to seek out terrorists and destroy any type of terror activity. The Patriot Act help to the government look into other crimes such as drug trafficking as well as international crimes both of which may lead to terrorism. These searches that were allowed after the Patriot Act helped the governments look into larger scale crimes like the production or selling of weapons of mass destruction as well as chemical warfare. The Patriot Act seemed to help the government become less translucent to terrorists. Another positive part of the act was that it seemed to make the government to be up with the time so to speak as far as technology was concerned. Lastly, President Bush allowed for harsher penalties towards terrorists after 9/11. The Patriot Act allowed the government to surpass some amount of privacy of the American people which in the end seemed to be a constructive thing in the way of
Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency (N.S.A) subcontractor turned whistle-blower is nothing short of a hero. His controversial decision to release information detailing the highly illegal ‘data mining’ practices of the N.S.A have caused shockwaves throughout the world and have raised important questions concerning how much the government actually monitors its people without their consent or knowledge. Comparable to Mark Felt in the Watergate scandals, Daniel Ellsberg with the Pentagon Papers, Edward Snowden joins the rank of infamous whistleblowers who gave up their jobs, livelihood, and forever will live under scrutiny of the public all in the service to the American people. Edward Snowden released information detailing the extent of the N.S.A breaches of American privacy and in doing so, became ostracized by the media and barred from freely reentering America, his home country.
In particular The NSA or National Security Agency was reported to collect massive amounts of data from the citizens of the United States and many other foreign countries. This data was not obtained with the permission of the people but obtained in secrecy and the majority of the data that was collected was “phone metadata, or information about who you call, when you called them, where you called them, what kind of carrier you were using, and more” (Kelly 2). With this kind of information being obtained people’s lives can be perceived by ...
Edward Snowden. This is a name that will be in the history books for ages. He will be branded a traitor or a whistleblower depending on where you look. Many Americans feel that Edward Snowden is a traitor who sold the United States’ secrets aiming to harm the nation. Others believe that he was simply a citizen of the United States who exercised his right to expose the government for their unconstitutional actions. It is important to not only know the two sides to the argument of friend or foe, but to also know the facts as well. My goal in this paper is to present the facts without bias and to adequately portray the two sides of the argument.
It is reasonable to argue that, governmental institutions or people with authority are subject to withhold a great deal of information from society. Many may argue that secrets are kept to ensure the safety of the nation. Thus, upholding the governmental duty of protecting the nation against possible threats. On the other hand, many believe that secrets may exist which violate our constitutional rights. Over the last year, Edward Snowden, has made headline news for leaking sensitive governmental information to the press. Edward Snowden is a 29-year-old high school drop-out, who was a tech specialist for the National Security Association. Snowden had discovered and later exposed the NSA for monitoring the nations e-mails, phone calls, and internet searches. As the allegations spread like wild fire, Edward Snowden sought asylum in Russia for one year. Snowden had a valid and justifiable reason to expose the NSA to the world because they were in violation of our fourth Amendment rights to unreasonable searches and seizures. The government called him a traitor, while others viewed him as a hero for exposing the government. Edward Snowden is a whistle blower because he felt that it is up to society to decide if governmental practices are just or unjust. Snowden does “express the highest respect for the law”, and he wanted to protect the right of privacy for American citizens.