Privacy In America

The founding fathers of the United States of America fought hard to achieve an independent nation. An independent nation containing freedoms and rights for citizens that only the constitution can guarantee. One of the crucial rights guaranteed to U.S citizens today is the right to privacy, or the right to be left alone according to Brandeis and Warren. The right to privacy is not specifically mentioned in the constitution, it is however mentioned in the bill of rights. The bill of rights is the first ten amendments of the constitution, which protects many civil rights and liberties of all U.S citizens. The debate today is whether the constitution protects the privacy of citizens from being regulated and invaded by federalism.

Most Americans feel trapped by the government. They believe that the government is spying on them just to do so and that there is absolutely no reason for it. However this is wrong because the government has several reasons to spy on us Americans. Even though this may seem outrageous, it is needed and there are ways the United States’ citizens have privacy. With all of these false accusations it is simple to see why people would be supportive of our right to privacy. On the other hand, the government eavesdropping on the people of the United States has helped save many lives and justice being served. The United States of America is a free country, so we should have the option to be spied on by the government; however, as citizens we do

While the government of 1984 takes complete control over the thoughts and actions of each individual in Oceania, the US government only records information and extracts them only for a legitimate cause. In 1984, the Party keeps everyone under its examination at every moment, accusing citizens of thoughtcrime - unacceptable thinking of the Party - for even the slightest hint of suspicion. Winston purposely turns his back towards the telescreen whenever he sits near one, for “anything that carried with it the suggestion of abnormality,… [such as] to wear an improper expression on your face,… was itself a punishable offense,” (Orwell 69). By restraining citizens and removing those from society who are accused even inappropriately, the government builds fear upon its citizens so that everyone would believe the government’s claims to be true regardless of reasoning. Meanwhile, in the United States, privacy is still recognized, and government searches are not allowed without proper reason. Under the Fourth Amendment, people are protected from “arbitrary governmental intrusions... [for] warrantless searches of private premises are mostly prohibited unless there are justifiable exceptions,” (Cornell University Law School). As seen today, social media allows individuals to think freely, and yet there are no

Privacy is, and should continue to be, a fundamental dimension of living in a free, democratic society. Laws protect “government, credit, communications, education, bank, cable, video, motor vehicle, health, telecommunications, children’s and financial information; generally carve out exceptions for disclosure of personal information; and authorize the use of warrants, subpoenas, and court orders to obtain the information.” (Protecting Individual Privacy in the Struggle Against Terrorists: A Framework for Program Assessment, 2008) This is where a lot of people feel as though they have their privacy violated. Most Americans are law-abiding citizens who do not commit illegal acts against the country, they want to go about their lives, minding their own business and not having to worry about outside interference. The fine line between privacy and National Security may not be so fine in everyone’s mind. While it is the job of government agencies to ensure the overall safety of the country and those living in it, the citizens that obey the law and do not do anything illegal often wonder why they are subject to any kind of search, when they can clearly point out, through documentation, that they have never done anything wrong.

“Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves”(Reagan). In the book, 1984, Winston recognizes the power the government has over the citizens of Oceania. The citizens lack privacy from the government. George Orwell warns society about a government with total control in 1984. Based on Dana Hawkin’s article, “Cheap Video Cameras Are Monitoring Our Every Move”, as well as Beech Etal’s, “The Other Side of the Great Firewall”, society may truly have something to fear in the form of surveillance and information manipulation.

Today, we can find tabloids and magazines on shelves of supermarkets or kiosks with pictures of celebrities or occasionally normal people who do not realize that they were photographed while they were in their home or enjoying their vacations. The motivation for those photographers who take those photos are probably the same which motivated Darwin Bonaparte to film John in the novel “Brave New World”. They aspire to be famous and wealthy. They are truly selfish, irresponsible and materialistic. Indeed, they gravely violate the right of those people to have privacy. For example, an article published in the USA Today mentions and presents different opinions about it,

With the seemingly exponential propagation of inexpensive digital communications technologies over recent years, the general public is becoming more aware of the issues surrounding information privacy and government surveillance in the digital age. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry with a smart-phone has to be wary of how they use their private information for fear of that information being collected and used in a way contrary to their wishes. "Leaky" smartphone apps that transmit private information across the internet can be unethically used by government agencies. The issue of privacy is a balancing act; the public usually wants increased privacy and the government usually wants increased access.

"59 Radio Address about the American Right of Privacy. February 23, 1974." American Reference Library - Primary Source Documents, Jan. 2001, p. 1. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mih&AN=32360825.

The American people, including many big corporations such as Apple, disagree with the government collecting the personal information of the American people. President, Barack Obama, stated that intelligence committees and all congress members were briefed on the Patriot Act and its contents (Obama). The congressmen knew what the Patriot Act did involving the personal commutations in the United States. Nevertheless, the Patriot act was voted into being a law almost unanimously in the senate, 98-1, and 357-66 in the House of Representatives (Patriot Act). When Ed Snowden leaked that the NSA was obtaining personal information and how it was handled, the American people became shocked and outraged towards the government, and created a tension from the American people towards the government.

While I trust the government and support their policies, you, the federal government, have failed us Americans. When attempting to gain information for an investigation, nearly 22.1 million innocent Americans have been exposed to the public with their personal information hanging by a thread, according to the Washington Post. You politicians may assume that justice is served by providing victims with incentives of extra security technology, but the federal government should not be allowed to gain information from personal devices for their investigation. Furthermore, the use of malware to hack these innocent Americans is an invasion of privacy, ruins devices and their data, ensues lawsuits and their costs with unnecessary breaches, and may even put people’s lives at risk.

In 1787, the constitution was born. The constitution has been America’s guideline to the American way of life. Our US constitution has many points in it to protect America and it’s people from an overpowered government, our economy, and ourselves. The only thing the constitution doesn’t directly give us, is our right to privacy, and our right to privacy has been a big concern lately courtesy of the National Security Agency (NSA).(#7) Although our constitution doesn’t necessarily cover the privacy topic, it does suggest that privacy is a given right. Some people say that the right to privacy was so obvious, that our founding fathers didn’t even feel the need to make a point about it.(#9) It also didn’t help

I, Savannah Parmelee believe an individual's right to privacy should be protected if they do not violate the law to a certain degree therefore, I plan to seek out evidence during my research that supports this controlling idea. I am greatly concerned about this topic due to the people’s privacy not being fully protected for both terrorist and by the government.In the video “Impact of drones on privacy rights” on “CBS This Morning” claims that “Lakota, N.D., is the first known site where a drone was used domestically to help arrest a U.S. citizen.” What the quote is saying is that drones helped arrest a U.S. citizen. The incident in the video proves that drones can help see illegal activities happening and can try to stop

1. In “1984”, the citizens in Oceania had no control over their privacy and were constantly being monitored by the government, (“Big Brother”). Today, many states and governments still utilize vigilance and control on the public through the internet/media. The government is constantly monitoring what people say and do online, (on social media, search engines, etc.). Even if you’re not doing anything bad online, like doing some simple research for a school project, or even if you’re just playing an online game, the government can still easily see and watch exactly what you’re doing. I’m sure that the government does this for good reasons,

To begin, government spying creates potential risks to public trust, personal privacy, and civil liberty, which is why dometic programs that allows bulk data to be stored should be put to an end. With the Patriot coming to an end, the senate voted to end NSA’s bulk data collection programs to end on may 13. “[T]he House overwhelmingly passed the USA Freedom Act by a vote of 338-88 . The bill would take the storage of bulk telephony metadata away from the government and would instead rely on the telecom

Everyone has their own secret and private things covering around; we only show the world some part of our lives and characters. Sometimes you need time to think, do homework or time to be alone to realize what you love or what you need to do. People in the different nation has different thinking about lifestyle. When I came to the U.S, I am so surprised and should learn more about the privacy. Although Vietnamese people do not have and care about privacy too much, American custom about privacy is considered as a treasure and clearly show in the workplace and at home. And then, I believe that when I write some detail about the private , it will help you understand and know how the privacy is important.