Should The US Government be Allowed to Spy on Americans to Avoid Terrorism? Which is more important, your privacy or your safety? This question often arises when the inclination of the United States government spying on American citizens is approached. The United States of America has a far-reaching history with National Security Agencies (NSA). The NSA is a United States intelligence agency responsible for the production and management of intelligence and information assurance for the United States government. The concept that American citizens should place their trust in government efforts to spy and do right by the people with national security in there hands posses too many dangers. Although the government claims to be spying on its citizens for their own protection, the question still remains, should the United States government have the authority to spy on American citizens to avoid terrorism? There are many types of surveillance’s that the government as set in motion. For instance, computer surveillance, phone surveillance, and Camera surveillance. The government is always claiming that they aren’t spying on everyday Americans but on the webpage www.eff.org on How the National Security Agency private domestic Spying Program Works, tells us a whole different story. The Government first convinced the major telephone companies such as Sprint and AT&T to deliver the records of the call-detail of their customers. This was done without any judicial oversight or a warrant. Also these phone companies allowed the National Security Agency to install practical transmission surveillance equipment Where the NSA could analyze certain key words or keyboard patterns and the connections. No warrant was issued for this as well it violat... ... middle of paper ... ...here that are relatively safe from outside prying eyes, they are called Mesh, and a mesh can be used as a cheap way to access the regular Internet. Thousands of communities worldwide have been building these build your own networks to keep the government from prying into regular people business. It is said when a person runs this network nobody can shut it down. But if somehow, even though these mesh groups are private, and there broken encryptions, mesh can hook up to regular internet, for instance Via satellite then this person can be sending signals back out to where the NSA can get access to be able to set up taps. This software is likely to gain traction among terrorist here at home; it makes sense for Americans to invest in this because of the way we live today. This parallel, and worldwide Internet is run by the people, for the people.
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.
In 2010, former senior U.S. officials conducted a simulation imagining of a catastrophic cyber attack, the origins of which came by way of a mobile application having malware that was self-replicating that eventually overwhelmed wireless networks and disabled portions of wired network communications and the internet as well as curtailing electrical supply channels and oil and gas pipelines (Corbin, 2010). Rather than consider the likelihood of such a catastrophe, the panel took the position that if such an event were to occur the government would have to take over telecommunications in this country, eight-five percent of which o...
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.
With the introduction of the internet being a relatively new phenomenon, the act of cyber espionage is not something that has been properly acknowledged by society. The American Government has done a stand up job of keeping its methods in the shadows and away from the eyes of its people since its documented domestic surveillance began on October 4th, 2001; Twenty three days after the Twin Towers fell President George Bush signed an order to begin a secret domestic eavesdropping operation, an operation which was so sensitive that even many of the country's senior national security officials with the...
The government is always watching to ensure safety of their country, including everything and everyone in it. Camera surveillance has become an accepted and almost expected addition to modern safety and crime prevention (“Where” para 1). Many people willingly give authorization to companies like Google and Facebook to make billions selling their personal preferences, interests, and data. Canada participates with the United States and other countries in monitoring national and even global communications (“Where” para 2). Many question the usefulness of this kind of surveillance (Hier, Let, and Walby 1).However, surveillance, used non-discriminatorily, is, arguably, the key technology to preventing terrorist plots (Eijkman 1). Government surveillance is a rising global controversy; and, although minimal coverage could possibly result in safer communities, too much surveillance will result in the violation of citizen’s privacy.
In America we take freedom and privacy for granted, we as people are unable to comprehend how safe our country actually is, especially in today's society. With that being said there is something that we must all understand, in this age of technology if people are not surveillanced it puts everybody else in our country and the country itself at risk. There are aspects of our privacy and life that we have to sacrifice in order to secure the freedom that we do have. The NSA and U.S. government needs access to our private information in order to ensure the safety of our country and citizens.
...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).
Domestic Surveillance: Is domestic surveillance worth the hassle? In 2013, whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed to the American people that the National Security Agency had been spying on them. Not only that, but also on world leaders. Domestic surveillance is understood as the first line of defense against terrorism, but it has many downsides, not only it violates Americans lives, also it spies on our social media, it puts a fine line on their privacy, and it is a big stab at the freedom of speech. According to John W. Whitehead, “The fact that the government can now, at any time, access entire phone conversations, e-mail exchanges, and other communications from months or years past should frighten every American.”
Whether the U.S. government should strongly keep monitoring U.S. citizens or not still is a long and fierce dispute. Recently, the debate became more brutal when technology, an indispensable tool for modern live, has been used by the law enforcement and national security officials to spy into American people’s domestic.
Benjamin Franklin once said “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” It should be every rational citizen’s question if we should exchange our civil liberties for safety. How far do we have to go to keep our civil liberties from being violated? We are consistently surveyed by the government in every step. The government is going through our phone calls, text messages, private emails and social media. It’s almost impossible to keep anything privates nowadays. In my opinion, there should be a limit on how much of our privacy is surveyed by the government.
Citizens feeling protected in their own nation is a crucial factor for the development and advancement of that nation. The United States’ government has been able to provide this service for a small tax and for the most part it is money well spent. Due to events leading up to the terrifying attacks on September 11, 2001 and following these attacks, the Unites States’ government has begun enacting certain laws and regulations that ensure the safety of its citizens. From the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978 to the most recent National Security Agency scandal, the government has attempted and for the most part succeeded in keeping domestic safety under control. Making sure that the balance between obtaining enough intelligence to protect the safety of the nation and the preservation of basic human rights is not extremely skewed, Congress has set forth requisites in FISA which aim to balance the conflicting goals of privacy and security; but the timeline preceding this act has been anything but honorable for the United States government.
For example, this year Hillary Clinton was put under a microscope for the use of a private email address. When government officials learned that she had this extra email they scrutinized her continuously about it. Next, she was investigated to see if she had classified information on this email, not the private email that the government provides. This is another form of proof of the never ending government surveillance these days. Along with emails the government uses the combing through social media pages or profiles. Although most profiles of social media can be seen at all times on the internet. The government can make the private posts accounts available to themselves at all
They have the power to go through emails, text messages, and some claim phone calls. It shouldn't matter if they're using it as surveillance. No one even the government, should have the power to go through private messages like
Privacy is a right granted to all American citizens in the Fourth Amendment which states “people have the right to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and lives against unreasonable search and seizures”. Although our founding fathers could have never predicted the technological advancements we have achieved today, it would be logical to assume that a person's internet and phone data would be considered their effects. This would then make actions such as secretive government surveillance illegal because the surveillance is done so without probable cause and would be considered unreasonable search or seizure. Therefore, access to a citizen’s private information should only be provided using probable cause with the knowledge and consent of those who are being investigated.
The Internet is a global network connecting millions of personal, institutional and company computers. The number of computers used by the internet is growing rapidly. The United States is connected with over 100 countries worldwide and linked together to exchange of data, news and opinions. The Internet is decentralized design. This means that there isn't just one computer that stores all of the information from the Internet. There are many independent host servers located throughout the US and the world that store the information made available to the global Internet community.