The National Security Agency is a subunit of the U.S. Department of Defence and is the controller of the largest electronic and online surveillance programs. Given their authority from Foreign Intelligence and Surveillance Act of 1978, the initial plans were for the NSA to be a regulated program, that had to go through a series of checks and balances in order to collect any information. It was also not intended for domestic use. On June 6, 2013, news outlets the Washington Post and the Guardian released the detailed reports that the NSA was going above and beyond the call of duty, but probably not through the best of means.
There has always been the question on whether the nation's Big Brother, was spying on everything we did. The NSA is essentially created for spying on people, for the nation's defense. When Edward Snowden released top secret government documents, brought to light how far the NSA was willing to go to achieve this goal. In a recent post by the Guardian, it was found that the NSA gathers more information than the Library of Congress (Macaskill, Dance). The Library of Congress is the largest in the
…show more content…
His new rules, "allow the National Security Agency to share information it gleans from its vast international surveillance apparatus with the 16 other agencies" (Waddell). This allows other intelligence agencies to use NSA surveillance systems and expands the people who have access to unwarranted information. This means that the information gathered by the NSA will be accessible to other agencies, and these agencies will be able to pilfer through the data and collect what they may find pertinent to their own investigations. On one hand, this means there are more checks and balances on the information that is stored by the NSA, while on the other it means more people are able to invade the privacy of innocent people and their personal
The NSA has been proven to be spying on United States citizens without proof of those citizens being labeled as a threat to the United States or anyone. Just like in the book 1984 by George Orwell, the government was spying on their citizens for no reason. There are many similarities between the book 1984 and the NSA. Many individuals either succeeded or tried to show the terrible things that their government was doing. The NSA has been known in the past to protect the United States but since Edward Snowden exposed the NSA the United States citizens put less trust in their government in fear their rights will be taken away.
" Over 100 thousand private emails are viewed a day"(byman). The National security agency and central intel lance agency are illegally viewing private documents and private records. They have access to all of these items without the peoples consent. The NSA is going through people's documents and they are giving them to other countries. The NSA and CIA should not be allowed to do these things to private documents.
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)
Friday November 11th, I saw many articles of history claiming that government surveillance has been happening since Watergate and after the 9/11 attacks. Jane Harman implies that security sparked from the mistake of not protecting enough (Harman). The USA PATRIOT Act gave the government the authority to research forms of communication prior to 9/11 (“Domestic”). President George W. Bush authorized the National Security Agency, NSA, to look into the media and is believed to be the largest intelligence agency in the United States (“Domestic”). NSA has a location in Utah that can hold about 100 years of international data (Maney). Also, Lauren Regan claims that the new facility will be 1.5 million square feet (Regan 32). It’s shocking that they’ve made that big of a
President Obama. The federal government expanded the power of the National Security Agency to collect data on U.S. citizens, foreigners and governments. The expansion did not become publicly known, until Edward Snowden revealed the information of the NSA's domestic spying. Emails, cell phones, and corporate data were allowed to NSA surveillance without a warrant. In June 2015 the USA Freedom Act limited the NSA's power to collect phone data.
The American people privacy is violated by the NSA. Everyday person today in the USA uses technology to communicate and pleasure use: e-mail, texting, social networks, calling, blogs, forums, instant messaging, Internet and using search engines. The American people personal computer or electronic information is spied on and collect by the NSA this is wrong this is violating the fourth amendment.
As if it were not enough with all of these new security acts and suppositions that the government needed to do more to keep us safe. In late December 2010, the New York Times article revealed that President Obama and also his predecessor George W. Bush, had secretly authorized and approved the National Security Agency (NSA) having access to wiretap domestic phone calls and emails without obtaining legally required warrants. Through the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) administrative institutions were permitted to wiretap on an emergency basis and apply for warrants without the necessary legal authorization, the administration thought that FISA was too monotonous and cumbersome pertaining to urgent issues of national security.
The purpose of the National Security Association, sometimes referred to as the NSA, is to protect citizens from terrorist attacks on our country. The NSA has succeeded because they can invade our civil liberties to get the information they want. A delicate organization like the NSA struggles to find the difference between using information, and abusing it. The government abuses our civil liberties by disregarding the fourth amendment-protecting people’s privacy.
“It was maximally secretive from the start: President Truman created the NSA with the stroke of a pen at the bottom of a classified 7-page memorandum. Even the name was initially classified. Decades later, the memorandum that acted as the agency's charter remained secret.“(Friedersdorf). Because of this, the NSA has been shrouded in secrecy, which people disapprove of. “Despite its size and power...no law has ever been enacted prohibiting the NSA from engaging in any activity... In addition to being free of legal restrictions, the NSA has technological capabilities for eavesdropping beyond imagination.”(Friedersdorf). The NSA didn't want people to know about them or the illegal things they were doing. When the snowden files were released, The NSA had a downfall. If they were doing everything that was legal, they wouldn't have to hide everything that they are doing. While the NSA tries to support the US, many people still disapprove of their private records being
November 4, 1952. World War II had just ended with the Allied Forces claimed as the victors, mass hysteria flooded the United States of America and the president was tasked with creating an organization that prevented brutal attacks from being executed to the American people (Frequently…). The president at the time, Harry S. Truman, established what has in recent light become one of the most controversial American governmental agencies known as the National Security Agency, NSA for short. Recent leaks by the likes of Edward Snowden and court cases have shown citizens that allowing the government to track all of their information has not helped prevent terrorist actions. America as a whole needs to realize that spying, the one thing that it so heavily despises, is the thing that is taking our freedom away. If the government has access to all personal information, what is going to stop a hacker from getting that? It is one thing to submit and allow for your information to be tracked, but to have your consent taken away does not justify the “safety” provided. It’s clear to see that since its conception, the NSA has allowed far too many attacks to occur while strengthening its spying power. Let’s first delve into why the NSA was created and what their purpose is/was.
The NSA, or National Security Agency, is an American government intelligence agency responsible for collecting data on other countries and sometimes on American citizens in order to defend the country from outside risks. They can gather anything from people’s phone data to their browser history and use it against them in the court of law. Since the catastrophes of the September 11 attacks, the NSA’s surveillance capabilities have grown with the benefit of George W. Bush and the executive branch (Haugen 153). This decision has left a country divided for fifteen years, with people who approve that the NSA should be strengthened and others who think their powers should be limited or terminated. Although strengthening NSA surveillance may help
Since September 11th, 2001 the NSA has been monitoring public. This was the day of the terrorist attack on the twin towers, the day the NSA was formed. It was originally created to help prevent these types of attacks from happening again, but the surveillance methods were limited due to the technological disadvantages they faced compared to how far technology has come since then. Their main purpose has always been the surveillance of the public, by collecting all this information they can foresee these attacks before they happen which they will be able to stop, ultimately helping out the entire country by keeping the citizens safe.
The National Security Agency (NSA) is an agency that their task was to prevent any surprise attack after the World War 1 (Pearl Harbor attack, etc). NSA could track our phone, pictures we took, messages that we send to our friend, NSA analyzes everything that we do in our smartphone. After the 9/11 attack in 2001, the NSA failed to prevent the attack that they even only know about it after watching from the television. NSA was surprised by the sudden attack by Al-Qaeda that killed thousands of innocent American life. During the 9/11 attack, Vice President Dick Chaney sought advice from the White House counsel, making sure that President George W Bush constitutional authority was used to its fullest.
Americans have the right to know what personal information of theirs is being monitored by the government and if the government is operating in a constitutional manner. Although the top priority of government should be to protect Americans from international threats, it must do so without infringing on basic human rights. I believe that the Supreme Court rulings and laws regarding privacy are a good balance of protection and respect to privacy. However, government agencies such as the NSA have certainly overstepped their ground in many cases and abused clauses within the
Place yourself in the safety and comfort of your home, under the belief that “everyone has the right to the use and enjoyment of his property” (Department of International Law), searching, emailing, and talking about things that may be frowned upon by others. Now imagine the raw feelings of fear and deception that would wash over you upon seeing Edward Snowden’s statement on how “the U.S. government is destroying privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they 're secretly building.” You may initially feel betrayed, but Obama formally announced that the NSA acts solely in the name of safety right? Have we begun to sacrifice the freedom and