An Unwarranted Call

Is anyone’s private information contained in their cell phone actually private? Are appointments, bank information, conversations, the user’s location or other sensitive personal information truly confidential? Is there a Big Brother watching? There is no definitive answer to any of these questions. From the beginning of time to now, privacy has become more and more scarce. Through new developments in technology, it is hard to believe that someone is not watching your move at any given moment. The government’s job is to keep Americans safe, but where is the line drawn? Where is the difference between having a reasonable doubt and accessing information solely because these government officials have the power to do so? The government has infringed upon the rights of the American people when it comes to this topic.

Privacy is, and should continue to be, a fundamental dimension of living in a free, democratic society. Laws protect “government, credit, communications, education, bank, cable, video, motor vehicle, health, telecommunications, children’s and financial information; generally carve out exceptions for disclosure of personal information; and authorize the use of warrants, subpoenas, and court orders to obtain the information.” (Protecting Individual Privacy in the Struggle Against Terrorists: A Framework for Program Assessment, 2008) This is where a lot of people feel as though they have their privacy violated. Most Americans are law-abiding citizens who do not commit illegal acts against the country, they want to go about their lives, minding their own business and not having to worry about outside interference. The fine line between privacy and National Security may not be so fine in everyone’s mind. While it is the job of government agencies to ensure the overall safety of the country and those living in it, the citizens that obey the law and do not do anything illegal often wonder why they are subject to any kind of search, when they can clearly point out, through documentation, that they have never done anything wrong.

Whether it is calling someone on your phone or online shopping on the computer, people are more connected than ever to the internet. However, a person might be oblivious to the fact that they are being watched using these technologies. The NSA (National Security Agency) is an intelligence organization for the U.S. to protect information systems and foreign intelligence information. Recently the NSA has been accused of invading personal privacy through web encryption, tracking, and using personal information for their own uses and without permission. The surveillance of the NSA produces unlawful invasion of privacy causing an unsecure nation.

With the seemingly exponential propagation of inexpensive digital communications technologies over recent years, the general public is becoming more aware of the issues surrounding information privacy and government surveillance in the digital age. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry with a smart-phone has to be wary of how they use their private information for fear of that information being collected and used in a way contrary to their wishes. "Leaky" smartphone apps that transmit private information across the internet can be unethically used by government agencies. The issue of privacy is a balancing act; the public usually wants increased privacy and the government usually wants increased access.

The 4th amendment protects the citizens of the U.S. rights against unlawful search and seizure. This includes building a database of information that can be retrieved at any time for any reason just for the sake of collecting information. This gives the government access to personal information without the need of a warrant, just to “look into” someone’s life. If this is okay for the government to do, what is next? Personalized RFID tags for every individual who comes into the US? This would allow the government to secure the country by knowing where every individual is located in the country. Where is invading others privacy okay for the sake of securing the country from

The misuse of our personal information collected by private and public institutions has made privacy, or the lack of it, a major societal concern today. One of the biggest reasons privacy has become such an issue is the enactment of the “Patriot Act”, signed into law in reaction to the attacks on 9/11/2001. This act broadened the ability for the US government to collect surveillance on people in order to protect against terrorism inside the US. Critiques say it violates our civil liberties and undermines our democracy. One example of this is the collection and storage of phone data by the government under the Patriot Act. Is this an invasion of privacy? In order to keep society safe, a certain amount of private information has to be known by Law Enforcement. In order to collect taxes and for society to function, the government also needs some information. Collecting basic information isn’t an invasion of privacy, but the collection phone data is too intrusive. Can the public trust the government to not miss-use or lose the information they have on them?

“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated…” Sound familiar? Well it should. That quote was a section of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Those lines are one of the many things that set America apart from other countries around the world. It has protected us for centuries from “unreasonable searches and seizures…” made by anyone, including the government. This is all beginning to change with the inventions of the smartphone, computer, and even GPS. These inventions have possibly turned our world for the better, or maybe even for the worse.

Next, the government needs to create a new law or update the Fourth Amendment because in actuality, everyone is violating that amendment. For more clarification, the Fourth Amendment states that you do not have a right to privacy in public places (Smith). Basically, once one steps outside their house anyone can watch him or her. In addition, in the Amendment it states, Americans must explain to the court how their privacy interest has been invaded (Calo 34). Every citizen has the right to technology and can resist surveillance, although, the technologies that are being used lack usability which can turn the user into more of a target. Americans have the right to protest against government surveillance. They can even vote for privacy, friendly

Until now, many people argued that searching of historical cell phone records affects people’s privacy, but some other argue that the fourth amendment gives extreme protection for people’s privacy and it puts the country’s safety at risk. In general, it’s obvious that the fourth amendment gives extreme privacy to people since searching for the call history of a person to find just the location and time of call of a person without getting deep into its contents doesn’t touch the privacy of a person but at the same time gives an important information for

We are losing our privacy day in and day out, are you ok with that? The fourth amendment unreasonable search and seizure is being threatened today. We are losing our rights from the very own people who swore an oath that quotes “I will always uphold the constitution,” these are the same policemen that you see in video evidence of them violating our rights. For decades at&t a phone company that makes their customers believe that they can be trusted and feel like they have some sort of privacy, helped the NSA with surveillance on phone calls and internet traffic. Are we really still protected by our rights, has the people that were meant to protect us turned their back on us, has the phone companies that violated

Privacy is what allows people to feel secure in their surroundings. With privacy, one is allowed to withhold or distribute the information they want by choice, but the ability to have that choice is being violated in today’s society. Benjamin Franklin once said, “He who sacrifices freedom or liberty will eventually have neither.” And that’s the unfortunate truth that is and has occurred in recent years. Privacy, especially in such a fast paced moving world, is extremely vital yet is extremely violated, as recently discovered the NSA has been spying on U.S. citizens for quite a while now; based on the Fourth Amendment, the risk of leaked and distorted individual information, as well as vulnerability to lack of anonymity.

Just as the freedom of the press is backed up by the first amendment, our right to privacy is also protected by the fourth amendment-at least that was what I thought. In his book, “Privacy Lost,” David Holtzman elucidates that many Americans are under the impression that the law protects their right to privacy; when in fact, “the word privacy doesn’t even appear in the Constitution-not once” (93). This is what the Fourth Amendment actually states, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, 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 searched, and the persons or things to be seized" (US 1). It is important to understand the protection we do have under this law-even if it is very limited. This law was created to insure its citizens that the government has limitations on its powers, and that it cannot gather any information from people without first asking the court for a warrant. Does this mean that the government cannot search our home, our computer, and our records? No, on the contrary, the government can search and engage in any kind of surveillance, and in anyway it pleases. The only thing that stops the government from searching our home, is a warrant. Which is a piece of paper that can easily be acquired by his friend, the judge. Furthermore, this law will protect us when we

Today the United States government is invading people’s privacy due to the fear of reoccurring terrorist attacks. For example, the September 11, 2011 terrorist attack and the Boston terrorist attack. However, according to

The government is invading our privacy by using cell phone data and other technologies.

How important is your privacy? Do you know if your privacy is being invaded by your own government? Over the years people are concerned about their privacy. Cell phones and electronics have played a big role in invasion of privacy as said throughout the articles. As stated in the article there are many functions and websites that monitor every move and keeps a record of what you're doing online.