Persuasive Essay On Self Surveillance

Today, Canadian’s lives today are as translucent as ever. Most organizations especially the government constantly watches each and every one of our moves. By definition, surveillance is any systematic focus on any information in order to influence, manage, entitle, or control those whose information is collected. (Bennet et Al, 6). From driving to the shopping mall to withdrawing money from the ATM machine, Canadians are being watched constantly. With Canada’s commitment to advance technology and infrastructure in the 1960s, government surveillance is much easier and much more prevalent than it was hundreds of years ago. Even as early as 1940s, the Dominion Bureau of Statistics used punch cards and machines to determine who is available

Did you know that 58% of employers have fired workers for Internet and email misuse? And 48% justify employee video monitoring as an effort to “counter theft and violence?” According to the “2007 Electronic Monitoring & Surveillance Survey” of which 304 U.S. companies participated in, computer-monitoring results have led to the highest cause of employee termination. These companies used several tactics to eavesdrop on employees while claiming to be managing productivity or for security purposes. Some argue that surveillance is absolutely necessary to help protect and grow a business; others argue that employee and customer rights come first. However, companies that use such tactics often violate the privacy of individuals, exploit their private information and even punish those that do not conform to their standards.

Surveillance is not a new thing. In fact, espionage, tracking, and sleuthing were part of society ever since 5000 B.C. But in the rise of the modern era, the idea of surveillance in the public eye serves as a controversial topic of discussion. People everywhere complain about the existence of security cameras, government tracking, and the right to privacy. Such problems, however, are not due to the sudden discovery of surveillance, but the modern abuse of it. Seeing the disastrous effects of over surveillance from George Orwell’s 1984, the public rightfully fears societal deterioration through modern surveillance abuse portrayed in Matthew Hutson’s “Even Bugs Will Be Bugged” and the effects of such in Jennifer Golbeck’s “All Eyes On You”. The abuse of surveillance induces the fear of discovery through the invasion of privacy, and ensures the omnipresence of one’s past that haunt future endeavors, to ultimately obstruct human development and the progress of society overall.

As the late Frank Herbert once said, “Once, men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this would set them free. But that only permitted other men with machines to enslave them.” Federal electronic wiretapping and supervision dates to the Wiretap Act of 1968, and has only increased in the following decades. Organizations such as the National Security Agency have been empowered by FISA (United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Courts) to bypass the authority of the Supreme Court in determining constitutional validity on searches. Government Surveillance is unjustified because it infringes upon personal freedoms, does not guarantee safety, and is not a vital necessity.

There is an argument that police officers are getting out of hand with handling arrest. The most recent solution to the problem is having every policeman have a body camera, in order to make the police officer feel as if their every movement is being watched. Recently, there has been discussion if police officers using body cameras is a Liberty Issues and that it gives the police force way too much unchecked power. Some citizens believe that body cameras leads into privacy issues (4th Amendment), violation of civil rights (1st Amendment), and may give too much power to the government (Limited Government via James Madison).

In May of 2013 Edward Snowden leaked NSA documents revealing that the organization had been, warrantlessly spying on U.S. citizens, via the internet. (Britannica) The information leaked showed that the NSA had been tapping phones and monitoring citizen’s text messages, emails and social media. (NPR) Snowden has said that he brought these documents to light, not to discredit the government’s method, but to expose it’s methods. Snowden wanted to allow the people of the United States to decide for themselves. (Britannica)

If you are constantly feeling like your parents are watching everything you do, they just might be. In “Parental Monitoring or an Invasion of Privacy”, Robert Foltz mentions that technology is growing and becoming more advanced. Also, in “How Private is your Private Life”, Andrea Rock says “when you are online, file an insurance claim or even eat out, you reveal personal information to strangers”(Rock 683).Eventually your parents, or anyone, may be able to see what you are doing or where you are at. A key question is “Does this surveillance foster positive behavior or fuel distrust?”(Foltz) Most teens would like to be with their friends and do normal actions without being monitored. However, too much freedom could result in teens doing actions they should not be doing. There is also a lack of trust if there is too much monitoring. In “Parental Monitoring or an Invasion of Privacy”, there are question surrounding whether teens should have more

Since the 9/11 attacks in 2001, the United States government has been going doing everything it can in an effort to protect the citizens of the United states. However, the government has gone too far by secretly building a database with every phone call made in America in it. According to the Tracked in America organization, “During national crises, the United States Government often reacts overzealously. It takes actions to curtail the guaranteed rights of the people.” The government has proven this theory all throughout its history, and is continuing this tradition of overzealous reactions by its implementation of Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT ACT. Patrick Leahy, a senator from Vermont, said, “Section 215 of the

In the years of government surveillance has improved in many ways such as the technology and advancing the fundamental ideals of individuals rights, they use the technology to avoid many terrorist attack. The government preferably and advancing the fundamental ideals of individual rights, they use technology to avoid a numerous of restrictions on surveillance on common civilians. Between the citizens of this country, there is a rising concern for the issue of privacy due to such a powerful creation, in this case the Utah Date Center, as they feel that they are feeling a severe violation on the rights that they had previously considered impenetrable. In order to stop these concerns, Congress should consider endorsing a law that seeks to join the government’s use of technology to our Constitutional values.

Government surveillance is Getting watched by the government can be safe and can be quiet helpful in some cases such as, when a crime is committed by a criminal they can use cameras to record what happened and they can use that against the criminal.

The right to privacy was not established as a constitutional doctrine until after the result of the Supreme Court ruling in the 1965 case of Griswold vs. Connecticut. The court decision was based on the interpretation of several amendments within the Bill of Rights. Although the Bill of Rights does not explicitly state anything about the right to privacy, a combination of its sections was used as the framework for establishing the right (“Griswold v. Connecticut (1965),” 2007).

Technological Surveillance In an age where instant communication and technology provide easy and ready access to information, the society and the individual is caught between two very controversial principles- open information and privacy. The perceptions and expectations of privacy are rapidly changing as a result of current developments in surveillance technologies. The question is are these new surveillance technologies endangering the values and morals of our democratic society, the society we have worked for many centuries to achieve?

Today, individuals are sacrificing privacy in order to feel safe. These sacrifices have made a significant impact on the current meaning of privacy, but may have greater consequences in the future. According to Debbie Kasper in her journal, “The Evolution (Or Devolution) of Privacy,” privacy is a struggling dilemma in America. Kasper asks, “If it is gone, when did it disappear, and why?”(Kasper 69). Our past generation has experienced the baby boom, and the world today is witnessing a technological boom. Technology is growing at an exponential rate, thus making information easier to access and share than ever before. The rapid diminishing of privacy is leaving Americans desperate for change.

Why do we as American's fear of becoming the victim of a crime? Reality is that we as individuals of the United States only have a two-percent chance of becoming the victim of a violent crime. Surveillance is starting to become high in demand for businesses, offices, and even inside and outside of homes solely because we are taught that crime is always happening to someone, somewhere. From personal experience, I feel as if surveillance cameras are not only one of the best ways to prevent crime, but it also increases the possibility to catch the individual(s) who choose to engage in a deviant act or actions. Although alarm systems can be effective, they do not identify who is committing the crime. The alarm systems simply tell the

Our society would not survive in the 21st century without the help of electronic surveillance. Safety is one of the main purposes of electronic surveillance. Safety is the state of being secure and free from danger of any sort. Today, many would rather give up their privacy for safety (Smithsimon). In fact, surveillance gadgets such as cameras, radio tracking chips and house alarms are used in many places to ensure safety. For instance, a parent can easily place a hidden camera in a stuffed animal in order to see how the babysitter handles his or her child (Public Places Have Eyes). Cameras are also used to ensure safety on school premises. According to the GCC College Safety website, "the college has an extensive system of surveillance