Chuck Mccactcheon On Whistleblowers

The Internet was first used in the nineteen sixties by a small group of technology professionals. Since then the internet has become an essential part of today’s world, from communicating through texts and emails to banking, studying, and shopping, the internet has touched every aspect of our lives. With the growing use of the internet, protecting important information has become a must. While some believe they have the right to privacy, and feel that the government should not be at the center of their lives. Others feel that the Internet has evolved into a weapon for our enemies, and believe the government must take action by proactively

Since the time the framers of the constitution, technology has improved significantly which has led to an increasing concern in the privacy of an individual. Technology, used by government agencies and commercial enterprises, has led to a change in one’s privacy and freedom. For this reason, the agencies and enterprises have been called into question of infringement of the fourth. Using the lessons learned from history, the framers of the constitutions created the fourth amendment, which protects from unreasonable searches, and the fifth amendment, which prevents a person from incriminating himself or herself, to create a government with just laws, but with the advancement in technology, the fourth amendment needs to expand its policies to fit the changes in modern society.

The past several years have seen a proliferation of legislation directed at controlling criminal activities through the increased application of new laws. The effectiveness of these new laws, remains in question due not only to their relative infancy but also due to a uniform determinism of what constitutes effectiveness. The purpose of this paper will be to review the Fourth amendment particularly relating to NSA, FISA, Title III and the PATRIOT Act.

Our nation is built upon its foundation from the United States Constitution and its Bill of Rights. Included within this governing document is the Fourth Amendment, the laws and guidelines that gives the people the right to privacy. Within in this amendment, it is stated that “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated” (Magruder’s American Government 772). Despite the fact that these right are clearly stated and profound, recent advances in the scopes of technology and social media have violated the people’s privacy by deceiving them into thinking they are protected.

Americans security and the Fourth Amendment have been conflicting since the origin of the amendment. Some Americans started to be at odds with whether their security is at risk with the amendment, yet other citizens feel that privacy is equally important. With the coming of the twenty first century complications between the two are certainly bound to occur. Since the coming of the digital age and mass production of personal electronics, people’s privacy becomes imminent. Simple reasoning shows America rebelled from Great Britain; and one of those reasons for America to fight for its independence is that there was no sensible privacy was being showed. Although the Fourth Amendment tries to protect the privacy of Americans data, it should be

The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution emphatically states that “no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause (Legal Information Institute 1.1).” Although the Fourth Amendment protects the privacy of people, today’s technology has led to privacy issues that need to be addressed. For example, when people comment on Twitter, it and a few other digital companies keep all the comments a person has ever posted (Daniel Zwerdling 1.2). Similarly, warrants must be used at all times if people are seizing information from someone, but searching through metadata does not require a warrant and there is no cause. Another issue is camera surveillance, which captures people who have not committed a crime, and security people do not need a warrant to

The Fourth Amendment makes certain that people are protected within themselves and “no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause.” Although the Fourth Amendment protects the privacy of people, today’s technology has led to privacy issues that need to be addressed. For illustration, when people comment on Twitter, Twitter and a few other digital companies keep all the comments a person has ever posted. Similarly, warrants must be used at all times if people are seizing information from someone, but searching through metadata does not need a warrant and there is no cause. Another issue is surveillance captures people with cameras, and people who have not committed a crime are still being watched, but security people do not need a warrant

" In the late eighteenth century, after the United States of America achieved their independence from their former ruler, American leaders decided that their country was in need of a new document to rule over it. They took upon themselves the task of drafting the Constitution, which has been the supreme law since its ratification. As part of its Bill of Rights, the Fourth Amendment protects American citizens from ""unreasonable searches and seizures"". While the internet did not exist for a couple more centuries, this right that citizens have expands and changes as society does, therefore internet protection falls under the umbrella of the Fourth Amendment. The government monitoring the internet could be considered illegal under this fourth

As an American, we know, and are immune to this country starting to build on technology. Where every call or click online can be traced back, stored, searched and put together to reveal a portrait of private life. However, current law gives little privacy protection to information about these activities, overstepping the First and Fourth Amendment safeguards that are guaranteed to individual freedoms. There are two cases to be discussed, Smith v. Maryland and United States v. Miller, two of the most important Fourth Amendment decisions of the 20th century. “In these two cases, the Court held that people are not entitled to an expectation of privacy in information they voluntarily provide to third parties” (Thompson, para. 1). This proposition, know as the third-party doctrine, permits the government access to a vast amount of information about individuals, such as the websites they visit, who they have emailed, the phone numbers they call, and their utility, banking, and education records.

With the vast amounts of new technology within the law enforcement world for gaining information on possible criminal activity, it becomes easier to violate the Fourth Amendment right of citizens. One example of how the Fourth Amendment right of a person was violated due to technology was Kyllo v. United States (2001) in which a thermal imaging device was used by federal agents to determine that a house in the state of Oregon was growing marijuana due to irregular heat patterns within the residence (Fuqua & Stevens, 2014). The Court once again reviewed and upheld the constitutionality of the case due to the fact that the agents did not request a search warrant prior to using the thermal imaging device on a private residence, but the Courts did advise that a warrant should have been obtained to use the thermal imaging device and any other similar technological devices that would be used on a private dwelling (Dempsey, Forst, & Carter, 2014). Given society's increasing reliance on technology, including smart phones and other Internet-connected devices, it is fair to say that the Supreme Court is not done grappling with the implications of advancing technology (Fuqua & Stevens,

Government surveillance in the past was not a big threat due to the limitations on technology; however, in the current day, it has become an immense power for the government. Taylor, author of a book on Electronic Surveillance supports, "A generation ago, when records were tucked away on paper in manila folders, there was some assurance that such information wouldn 't be spread everywhere. Now, however, our life stories are available at the push of a button" (Taylor 111). With more and more Americans logging into social media cites and using text-messaging devices, the more providers of metadata the government has. In her journal “The Virtuous Spy: Privacy as an Ethical Limit”, Anita L. Allen, an expert on privacy law, writes, “Contemporary technologies of data collection make secret, privacy invading surveillance easy and nearly irresistible. For every technology of confidential personal communication…there are one or more counter-technologies of eavesdropping” (Allen 1). Being in the middle of the Digital Age, we have to be much more careful of the kinds of information we put in our digital devices.

Government surveillance has not contributed to a decrease of percentage in crimes, but has created a controversial topic instead. Online surveillance has been an invasion of privacy, because everything the users access is seen without their consent. Due to the fact the stored data is not used, government surveillance in the united states has not been very impactful. Crimes and terrorist attacks were not stopped, and the mass storage of personal data within the last year has violated privacy laws 2,776 times (Government Surveillance 722). Surveillance online is not only unsuccessful in America, but in UK, and Canada as well. Out of every 1000 security cameras, only one camera is actually used to catch a criminal (Government Surveillance 722). However, there are several solutions that can be made to allow the usage of government surveillance without the violating the rights of Americans. Some of the solutions have already taken action, and will give users more freedom online.

Throughout time, privacy and security have been two heavily debated topics. There has always been a struggle to find middle ground between a private environment and a secure environment, but the dawn of technology and the Internet has made this struggle even more difficult. The Internet has drastically decreased the expectation of privacy of any and all individuals that have ever used it. Technology in general can pose a threat to an individual’s physical and virtual security. The Internet has also brought forth a sense of anonymity to those looking to conceal their true identities, some of which plan to commit horrific crimes. Privacy and security go hand in hand, however security is by far the most important.

The concern about privacy on the Internet is increasingly becoming an issue of international dispute. ?Citizens are becoming concerned that the most intimate details of their daily lives are being monitored, searched and recorded.? (www.britannica.com) 81% of Net users are concerned about threats to their privacy while online. The greatest threat to privacy comes from the construction of e-commerce alone, and not from state agents. E-commerce is structured on the copy and trade of intimate personal information and therefore, a threat to privacy on the Internet.

Technology has become very effective for a thriving generation, but it also possesses a handful of flaws that counter the benefits. Technologies help people post and deliver a message in a matter of seconds in order to get a message spread quickly. It also gives individuals the power to be the person they want to be by only showing one side of themselves. But sometimes information that had intentions of remaining protected gets out. That information is now open for all human eyes to see. This information, quite frankly, becomes everybody’s information and can be bought and sold without the individual being aware of it at all. However, this is no accident. Americans in the post 9/11 era have grown accustomed to being monitored. Government entities such as the NSA and laws such as the Patriot Act have received power to do so in order to protect security of Americans. However, the founding fathers wrote the fourth amendment to protect against violations of individual’s privacy without reason. In a rapidly growing technological world, civil liberties are increasingly being violated by privacy wiretapping from government entities such as the NSA, Patriot Act and the reduction of the Fourth Amendment.