How The Nsa's Domestic Spy Program Works Analysis

"Our nation was founded and still thrives on the basic ideas of freedom of speech and privacy. However, it has recently been revealed that the NSA and CIA are searching through many American’s emails, phone conversations, and browser histories. Although this may seem shocking, this was not the first time the American government hampered the freedom of speech. During WWII, a massive censorship program was put in place, and thousands of American’s letters were read and “adjusted” to make sure no sensitive information was being leaked.

Over the last several years, cyber attacks have been continually rising. This is in response to emerging threats from rogue nations and terrorist groups. They are increasing their attacks on government, military and civilian installations. According to James Clapper (the Director of National Intelligence) these threats have become so severe. It is surpassing terrorism as the greatest challenge facing the nation. In response, the National Security Agency (NSA) began conducting surveillance on those who are involved in these activities and others which are threat to US national security interests. This program became so broad; it started continually collecting phone records and emails on ordinary Americans. This angered many, who felt that the US was acting in a way that circumvented established legal guidelines and procedures. To fully understand what is taking place requires focusing on the event, the government 's response and the ways it did / did not meet our national security goals. Together, these different elements will illustrate what occurred and the lasting impacts on everyone. (Greenwald 2014)

Thomas Jefferson said, “My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.” The National Security Agency (NSA), established by the National Security Act of 1947, exists to safeguard American citizens against terror threats and foreign intelligence.(National Archives) Since the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, the NSA, through the guise of the Patriot Act, has been investigating American citizens who are not suspect of law breaking. President George W. Bush enacted the Patriot Act (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 [Britannica]) in October 2001, but current President Barack Obama furthered its parameters via Executive Orders such as EO’s 13526 and 13549 (Federal Register). The Agency’s private investigations have caused public suspicion. This concern was validated by the revelation of the government’s collection of metadata (phone history), storage of text messages, possession of spy programs, and proof of the wire tapping of two-country related phone calls after Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor, leaked private information to the public in May/June of 2013. (Britannica)

Decades of misinterpretation, secrets as well as a not clarified actions involving mainly the use of data collection, leaded the NSA, the National Security Agency of United States of America whose was founded in 1952 for the former United States President Harry S. Truman, one of the greatest questions marks in America’s society at 21st Century. However, limitless efforts made against national and foreign terrorist plots, cyber technology alongside of security advances, noticeable actions also a huge support from the government, created a notable and extensive mixture of feeling towards NSA within its purpose to protect the United States of America. Throughout this research, an examination of privacy and security issues regarding the NSA is made; are people really having a legitimate reason for complying? What really matters for NSA? Intelligence, systems and tools, are privacy issues the real NSA concern? What is really being traded off? Is NSA a helpful asset for the nation? Amendments, bill of rights, the gap that allows space for doubt, as well the incredible acceptance in some areas. Questions and points to be explained throughout the research and opinions from the same of those who have daily questions about what is really being done “For the Good of the Nation” (NSA home).

Dingwen Zhang English 3 12 August 2016 NSA Surveillance NSA Surveillance: Is safety worth losing freedom? Recently there is debate about if it is okay for the United States government to spy on citizens using NSA and FBI. This became common knowledge when Edward Snowden leaked millions of documents that show the government is spying on the public. The United States government should not keep the NSA surveillance going because it hurts the public more than it keeps the public safe.

In John Cassidy's article that depicted Snowden as an individual for his actions, spying domestically was an issue most citizens were shocked about. How can one agency see and watch all everywhere? Upon this declaration that was plastered along news threads and the media, Edward has been named a criminal under the law. His act of courage allowed millions to acknowledge the fact of not believing everything they hear. The National Security Agency's programs are now being questioned because of their dishonesty and lack of accurate information for the public. Because of Edward Snowden's undaunted exploit of private government files, tech agencies have furthered their search for better security so that their users can feel safe even in the midst of mass surveillance. Yet, despite several dangerous targets on his back, Snowden remains to believe in his action being done with pure intentions. Speaking bravely

Lately, in the United States, the controversial topic of privacy has been rekindled by several occurrences, including the recent NSA surveillance scandal. When government actions are questioned, the

The September 2001 attacks on the twin towers will forever change how the United States will fight foreign and domestic terrorism. The implementation of “The Program” starting on October 4th, was set out to collect massive amounts of data via Internet and telephone records to ensure national security. Many people within the NSA didn 't even know about this program because it was so classified. The select few that knew about this program, had several different views about how ethical this program was. But many of them viewed it as an unethical practice and a clear violation of the Constitution of United States. But some of them viewed it as necessary to national security.

First off, the topic of government surveillance has continued to be a controversy in it’s own regard, especially in the United States since the attacks of 9/11. Although citizens have remained uninformed of the true scope of domestic spying, some government employees have questioned just how far the NSA is truly reaching into the private lives of American citizens. For example, prior to Snowden’s leaks, U.S senators Ron Wyden and Mark Udall had been stating vague warnings

The National Security Agency of the United States has created a confidential surveillance program named PRISM, operating as the world’s largest “Planning Tool for Resource Integration, Synchronization, and Management”. This program is designed to gather and process “foreign intelligence” that travels through the United States, by extracting data from some of the world’s largest tech companies and its users. The United States describes itself as the “Worlds telecommunications backbone”, which was explicitly listed in the leaked PowerPoint presentation of PRISM’s operation. By going undercover and secretively accessing file transfers, e-mails, videos, call logs and numerous other types of data, the United States government is enabling a watch dog on its citizens and creating the largest terrorist regime. These PowerPoint slides behold some very disturbing information in how U.S citizens are being deprived of privacy, leading to loss of agency. Restricting individuals to be watched all the time turns the human race into robots, as individuality is lost, and liberty and freedom begins to diminish. America’s justification for surveillance and spy activity since 9/11 was to fight terrorism and protect the population, but these documents have nothing to do with capturing foreign terrorists or improving national security. They are a means of control, and instead of indicating those as the elected and the elector, meaning that congress and this government was only created through the

The National Security Agency or otherwise known as the NSA, had sparked a recent debate of the fundamental amendment rights that American citizens have. To provide some historical context, the NSA in 2013 was exposed by Edward Snowden, a former contractor and employer of the NSA. He was a NSA whistleblower who divulged the surveilling tactics that the government had imposed on its citizens, as well as on many of its international allies. Many senior governmental officials had repeatedly stated the program’s importance in national security; however, many had also questioned its efficiency and validity in due process of one 's security. As a vehement believer of one’s individual rights, I do not think that even in times of war the NSA’s

“The consciousness of being at war, and therefore in danger, makes the handing-over of all power to a small caste seem the natural, unavoidable condition of survival” (Orwell). The world today is full of many dangers domestic and abroad. It has become a routine in the news to report on the daily mass shooting or update with the war on terror. We live in a world where being worried is justified; however, we should not give up our constitutional rights in the face of fear. The NSA’s dragnet surveillance programs, such as PRISM, are both ineffective and are surpassed by less questionable national security programs. The FISA court's’ approval of NSA actions are not only illegal, but exist as an embarrassing formality. Surveillance is a necessary

Ever since the American public was made aware of the United States government’s surveillance policies, it has been a hotly debated issue across the nation. In 2013, it was revealed that the NSA had, for some time, been collecting data on American citizens, in terms of everything from their Internet history to their phone records. When the story broke, it was a huge talking point, not only across the country, but also throughout the world. The man who introduced Americans to this idea was Edward Snowden.

In early June of 2013, all the main broad casting channels broke the story that the National Security Agency (NSA) was “spying” on United States citizens, and that communication in the U.S. was not private. Edward Snowden, formerly worked as a technical contractor for the NSA at the time, gave the media the information for the story. At the time of the release of the story, Snowden was in Hong Kong. This trip was a deliberately planned in order to keep himself from being immediately incarcerated in the United States. The NSA’s surveillance efforts were increased after the 9/11 attacks, and have allegedly kept growing since then (Gross, 2013). Whether the surveillance was in unconstitutional guidelines is something that is up for discussion now that the leaks have uncovered the degree of the surveillance that is, and has been, taking place. Other NSA Contractors state that the Constitution has been violated, but spokespeople from the NSA state that they are not “listening in” on conversations entered into by the average American, nor are they reading emails or other correspondence (Gross, 2013). The argument in the media and society concerning the NSA security leak is fixated on whether Edward Snowden is a hero or a traitor, but in order to make a judgement on that, one has to comprehend what Snowden actually did and how it affects society and the government.

When one begins research on surveillance, one commences to find that there is more to government surveillance than one may have first thought. Because of the countless diverse viewpoints on the issue of surveillance, it is difficult to imagine that the American people are satisfied with how the government conducts their various surveillance programs. Consequently, one might say that numerous Americans do not fully comprehend how invasive the surveillance programs are, and the amount that is used. Hence, the countless programs that the American government uses to collect American citizen’s private information, is not used for the greater benefit of the American people. Today, the American people have additional facts about government surveillance that they did not have several years ago. Americans were made aware of the extent of mass surveillance after a man named Edward Snowden leaked information, regarding mass surveillance, to the public. Therefore, one of the agencies that the government has authorized for surveillance is PRISM. PRISM is a code name for a program that the United States National Security Agency (NSA) uses to gather internet information from various national internet companies such as: Google, Yahoo, Facebook, YouTube and several other commonly known internet companies. In 2007, after the Protect America Act was passed, PRISM came into existence under the direction of the Bush Administration. It is an information collection method that is run under Section 702, which gained disrepute after Edward