The National Security Agency: Invasion of Information

2822 Words6 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The state of privacy in America today and 1984

Can you be sure that the government is not monitoring your every call and keystroke? The government has created a program under the National Security Agency that records the public’s usage of data and communications. In recent developments, the media has depicted the NSA as the ominous Orwellian Big Brother that is watching every move you make and thought you think. This is not far from the truth since your metadata from every call or online search is recorded, stored, and can be used to decode you as a person. The USA PATRIOT Act was valuable to the NSA while the United States was in a national crisis, after the attacks on September 11th; but now, the PATRIOT ACT needs to be repealed or modified to abide by the 4th Amendment to the Constitution because our time of crisis is over and political decisions do not need to be made as quickly. The government has crossed a privacy boundary and is infringing on our public right.

The USA PATRIOT Act is an acronym that stands for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Interrupt and Obstruct Terrorism. The USA PATRIOT Act is an act that was passed in 2001 to allow for a greater range of surveillance both nationally and internationally. The National Security Agency is a government program that was created in 1952,me in an attempt to prevent foreign attacks during the Cold War by intercepting communications (Frequently Asked Questions About NSA). Since intercepting telegrams and code breaking, communications have gotten much more complex with the growing and already widespread use of the Internet. Without proper funding to keep up with new technologies, the NSA had fallen behind other intelligence agencies until September 11th, 2001. The attacks on the T...

... middle of paper ...

...30 October 2013. 24 November 2013. Web.

Greenwald, Glenn. As Europe erupts over US spying, NSA chief says government must stop media. 25 October 2013. 24 November 2013. Web.

Guardian US interactive team. A Guardian guide to you metadata. 12 June 2013. 23 November 2013. Web.

Merkel demands clarity on NSA's role in Germany. 18 November 2013. 24 November 2013.

Mission. 15 April 2011. 23 November 2013. Web.

Selyukh, Alina. U.S. internal watchdog finds NSA workers spied on significant others. 27 September 2013. 24 November 2013. Web.

Wetterer, Charles M. The Fourth Amendment Search and Seizure. Berkely Heights: Enslow Publishers, Inc. , 1998. Print.

—. PATRIOT Act. 8 October 2013. Web.

—. Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act. 24 November 2013. Web.

—. Surveillance Under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. 2012. 8 October 2013. Web.

Show More
Related

  • Domestic Surveillance Pros And Cons

    550 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of The Fourth Amendment

    733 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are records of many cases that has created controversies over reasonable or unreasonable searches and seizures. As stated in the fourth amendment,

    Read More

  • Mapp v. Ohio and the Fourth Amendment

    762 Words  | 2 Pages

    The U.S Constitution came up with exclusive amendments in order to promote rights for its citizens. One of them is the Fourth amendment. The Fourth Amendment highlights the right of people to be secure in their persons, houses, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searches, and persons or things to be seized (Worral, 2012). In other words such amendment gave significance to two legal concepts the prohibition of unreasonable searches and seizures and the obligation to provide probable cause to issue a warrant. This leads to the introduction of the landmark Supreme Court case Mapp v. Ohio and the connection to a fact pattern (similar case). Both cases will be analyzed showing the importance of facts and arguments regarding the exclusionary rule and the poisonous doctrine.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of The Fifth Amendment

    903 Words  | 2 Pages

    To summarize the Fourth Amendment, it protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures. A search conducted by the government exists when the area or person being searched would reasonably have an expectation of privacy. A seizure takes place when the government takes a person or property into custody based on belief a criminal law was violated. If a search or seizure is deemed unreasonable, than any evidence obtained during that search and seizure can be omitted from court under

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of The National Security Agency

    868 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • 4th Amendment Violations

    1605 Words  | 4 Pages

    The 4th Amendment only applies when certain criteria are met. The first criterion is that the government must be involved in a search or seizure via government action. This action applies to conduct by government officials such as police, firemen, or an individual hired as a private actor of the government. After the first criterion has been met, the court must determine whether a search or seizure has occurred. A search is defined as the physical or technologic invasion of an area deemed by the majority of the court to have a reasonable expectation of privacy. These places could be homes or a closed telephone booth depending on the circumstances of the incident. A seizure occurs when the government takes one's personal belongings or the individual themselves.

    Read More

  • Fourth Amendment Exceptions

    2959 Words  | 6 Pages

    The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution states that people have the right “to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures,” but the issue at hand here is whether this also applies to the searches of open fields and of objects in plain view and whether the fourth amendment provides protection over these as well. In order to reaffirm the courts’ decision on this matter I will be relating their decisions in the cases of Oliver v. United States (1984), and California v. Greenwood (1988) which deal directly with the question of whether a person can have reasonable expectations of privacy as provided for in the fourth amendment with regards to objects in an open field or in plain view.

    Read More

  • Snowden's Revelations: ECPA & USA Freedom Acts

    1542 Words  | 4 Pages

    LEE, J. (2014, March 20). TED2014: NSA responds to Edward Snowden's video talk . .

    Read More

  • The NSA, Privacy and the War or Terrorism

    1550 Words  | 4 Pages

    Richards, Neil M. "The Dangers Of Surveillance." Harvard Law Review 126.7 (2013): 1934-1965. Academic Search Elite. Web. 8 Feb. 2014.

    Read More

  • The Patriot Act Suppresses Criticism of the Government

    1043 Words  | 3 Pages

    USA patriot Act, also known as the “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism” Act was passed October 26, 2001, after the September 11 attacks on the world trade center so that intelligence agencies can find terrorist in the united states and prosecute them. The Patriot Act allows the intelligence agencies to tap into phones, emails and banking history without the consent of a judge. The federal government have unlimited authority to spy on American citizens.

    Read More

  • The Patriot Act vs Civil Liberties

    1016 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Many opponents have come to see the patriot act as a violation of the fourth amendment to the U. S constitution.” (Belanger, Newton 2). The side effect of the patriot act is that it weakens many rights. This act weakens the fourth amendment which is our privacy protection. The fourth amendment allows citizens to be protected from unreasonable searches without a warrant. The police search suspects mainly because of their race or ethnic group.

    Read More

  • The Patriot Act Protects America

    761 Words  | 2 Pages

    Since September 11, 2001 many people can say that America has changed.  Many people question if America has changed for the better or has it just gotten worse. Since the day those four planes crashed around the United States people’s lives have been changed. Many may not realize how their lives have changed, but with new laws passed life is different within America. The United States Patriot Act is one of the laws passed after 9/11: singed into order on October 26, 2001 just 45 days after the attack. The United States Patriot Act was put in place in order to protect Americans, yet has been affecting American’s civil liberties and caused controversy all over the United States.

    Read More

  • NSA paper

    1011 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • In Praise of Big Brother: Why We Should Learn to Stop Worrying and Love Government Surveillance

    1896 Words  | 4 Pages

    Taylor, James Stacey. "In Praise of Big Brother: Why We Should Learn to Stop Worrying and Love Government Surveillance." Public Affairs Quarterly July 2005: 227-246.

    Read More

  • 1984 vs Today

    871 Words  | 2 Pages

    5 Dec. 2013. Gorman, Siobhan, and Jennifer Valentino-Deveries. New Details Show Broader NSA Surveillance Reach. " The Wall Street Journal. N.p., 20 Aug. 2013.

    Read More

More about The National Security Agency: Invasion of Information

Open Document