Online Privacy In The United States

The debate between where to draw the line between allowing government surveillance and keeping society’s members privacy will never be completely clear. It is important to keep a part of an individual’s life private and once the Untied States voted the Patriot Act in privacy went from limited to microscopic. Widening the scope of government surveillance slowly but surely pushes privacy out of the

Over the years, there has always been a lot of controversy surrounding the topic of whether or not the government should be able to monitor our activity on the internet. This especially become a huge debate more recently simply because of the many terrorist attacks and dangerous events that we’ve encountered. Many believe that if the government was given more insight to what the people of this country looked at on the internet, then they would be able to prevent many horrible things from happening. On the other hand, however, others feel that this is a violation of personal privacy and therefore should not be allowed. The government already monitors our internet usage but they are thinking of increasing what they monitory which has lead to many differing opinions among the people of the United States of America.

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.

The internet is a vast global interconnected network enabling numerous people to access countless information and communicate with others miles away. When browsing the web nowadays, however, many forget what’s really happening behind the scenes. Internet cookies and complex algorithms are being downloaded behind your back allowing big brand companies and even the federal government to track what the people are doing. This is a major violation to our right to privacy which is implied in the Constitution.On the other hand, it’s understandable for the government to have a substantial amount of surveillance of the internet to monitor terrorists and people seeking to cause harm, but the extent the US government controls over the web is absurdly large and unnecessary. Overall, surveillance and order must be maintained throughout the internet to deter fanatics intending to cause harm, but the United States government have increased their range so wide it has

In this paper I will be talking about government surveillance. The government pries through social media sites to gain information about United States citizens. I have become reliant and careless on social media. My birthdays is posted on social media, location, and school. Cell phones calls have been invaded by NASA as well. Internet searches are one of the governments way of tracking habits and patterns of potential suspects. I use technology for almost every school assignment, so avoiding technology in this generation is practically inevitable. Since the release of the government being guilty of surveilling its citizens, many citizens vocalized their stance or opinion. While some citizens claim they cannot function with knowing that they

America is an individualized society, where personal privacy is valued. Current exposure is increasing, however, due to technological factors. Those factors include social networking, YouTube, Twitter, and other forms of mass expression. The effects of this increased exposure can range from embarrassment to risks to personal safety on one hand to greater exposure to other cultures and a better understanding of the lives of others.

Our privacy is an important part of our lives. We, Americans, expects privacy to be our constitutional right even though privacy has not been mentioned in the Bill of Rights. The rise in modern technology tools to expand surveillance programs, the issue if privacy is more important and sensitive than ever, especially to our American minorities. Recent initiated recovery and preventative acts, “deemed necessary by our government” to protect Americans against any internal and/or external threats have given American surveillance conducting agencies unrestricted power. For instance, USA PATRIOT Act, initially enacted by the congress to assist law and investigation agencies in tackling down the growing terrorism related

Recently the topic of privacy has been brought up in the news since President Trump signed a bill to repeal internet privacy, giving internet provider companies the right to sell your internet history (Fung, 2017). Some say this is isn’t right, and that the government has no right to delve into our business. Other people think that as long as you aren’t look at anything bad, you should have nothing to worry about. Privacy isn’t an entirely necessary thing to have, but it is a nice thing to have. And in today’s world, where technology is taking over almost every aspect of our lives, soon enough the government might be able to control us.

In liberal-democratic societies, the right to individual privacy is among the core components of the democratic system. The right to privacy is enshrined in the Constitution of the United States and is a part of value systems Americans are proud of and cherish. Concepts related to privacy "touch on freedom, trust, the right to be left alone, obedience, and free will" (Michael & Michael, 2006, p. 360). The privacy needs of citizens, however, can be fully met only in times of peace and stability. National security threats sometimes may require security measures that allow law enforcement agencies to collect data that is crucial to protecting the nation. These security measures may clash with privacy concerns of the citizens. And since the national security is for greater good, citizens must be ready to give up some of their privacy rights for overall good. National security concerns are more important for the safety and security of the nation.

The relationship between government and citizens is often called into question when it comes to surveillance and the privacy of the people against the value of the information gained. This situation is echoed within the makeup of our online society, as we are given small benefits and social reasons to allow access to our information, while the government takes in as much data as they can to monitor people and use it as protection against possible outside threats, which results in a difficult balance. Through this, the government, commonly referred to as “Big Brother,” watches the habits of its citizens and while many think that the Internet is a battleground for privacy, the government holds much more weight because of their access to information,

"There is a responsibility for those in a position of power to monitor not only the behaviors observable in the physical world, but also those in the online one. This rings true especially as the line between the world of the web and the natural world grows more blurry. The government must set clear boundaries in order to keep U.S. citizens informed, and more importantly, safe. Internet users have the right to privacy, but there are times when safety needs to be prioritized above all else.

We salute those who have served or are serving our nation. We express gratitude to those brave men and women for their service to keep our American freedom. But why does freedom end once it involves technology? In this past year, more people have been questioning their online privacy. From a young age we are taught how to be careful on the internet, however our predator is no longer a 50 year old man pretending to be 13 year old Jessica. Our newest online threat is how fragile Americans’ privacy is online. Internet users, in The United States, personal information is being sold so that advertisements can appeal to them while they browse the internet. Other countries have already set laws in place to protect internet users. The United States’

Internet activist Eli Pariser says, "You should know who has your personal data, what they have, and how it is used." Chen-Chi Shing describes internet privacy is essentially the ability to control what information other individuals can view about another online (Shing, 31). Any internet user deals with their own privacy online, but may see that there is not a definite way to guarantee it. With current laws and policies, there are holes that certain people take advantage. Privacy is very hard to define in an evolving society and may be viewed in ways that others see differently. There are different perspectives on internet privacy from the eyes of the American internet user, companies, and the United States Government.

As an employee, what do we consider private? We can see everyone, including our co-workers, going through their daily routine, and its clear to spot that no one puts that much thought into the meaning of "privacy". Technology has been evolving ever since the first micro-chip, and with that, it gives people more of a free range to talk, share ideas and to even do their personal banking or finances across different platforms. On the front page of The American Civil Liberties Union (2016) about internet privacy, it states, "New technologies are making it easier for governments and corporations to learn the minutiae of our online activities. Corporations collect our information to sell to the highest bidder while an expanding surveillance apparatus and outdated privacy laws allow the government to monitor us like never before." We will be able to touch on all of this through the eyes of an employee as we look at 5 main aspects of internet privacy; Consumer Online Privacy, Social Networking Privacy, Cell Phone Privacy, Email Privacy and Cybersecurity all within one monumental case that is happening right before us; Apple vs FBI. We can see how they 're putting the customers privacy first and ethically trying to support the people.

Finding the balance between national security and individual privacy is a seemingly unnerving task. Today’s society has made great strides in innovation and technological advancements all designed to make the lives of members of society faster and more convenient. These new technologies are not without a price. The most widespread price paid by users of technology is the loss of privacy that comes with the bulk collection of data from many of these devices by the government. With this rapid change in technology the meaning of privacy has changed over the years, it is now understood as freedom from having one’s personal life and information tampered with. Privacy is essential to civilization, it allows every individual to create and preserve