The National Spying Agency: Are we safe? No. We are constantly walking past strangers, people we will only see for a brief second. But what if one of the strangers had access to everything that went on in your online life. They had access to your landline, texts, mobile calls, e-mails, chats, and even your social media websites. And everything they did was legal. This is exactly what the NSA in the United States is doing to their citizens. The US government is allowing this organization to read all of your private information online without a warrant. They have tossed aside every moral, political, and economic issue and have come to a conclusion that the NSA will help stop illegal activity and terrorist threats throughout the US. However, this statement has been found to been proven to be inaccurate. Time after time the NSA’s actions have been doing more harm then good. They have had employees abuse their powers, violated …show more content…
When it comes to the NSA time after time we have heard, “I'm not doing anything wrong, so why should I care? If you're doing nothing wrong, then you've got nothing to hide!” However the definition of wrong can change very quickly in the US. The personal data the NSA collects is run by many different organizations. It isn’t impossible that these organizations could sell your data for personal profit. The US has even admitted to sharing your information with the British intelligence. (Buren) The NSA’s organization had been kept secret for over ten years, we don’t know what else the US is hiding from their citizens. They could be sharing private information with other countries or people in the US but their citizens would never know because of their extremely secure organization. An organization that is more secure than our computers and phones. If you have nothing to hide don’t lock your doors, close your windows, or put a code on your phone. Now how will you sleep at
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.
When the colonist were drafting the constitution they couldn’t have imagined the tremendous growth we have achieved today. With innovation comes conflict. Many citizens feel the United States gives an illusion of freedom. Today the biggest conflicts are centered on basic rights spelled out in the constitution. It’s no secret the National Association of Surveillance illegally obtains information from the electronic devices of United States citizens. The actions of the NSA violate the 1st, 4th, 5th, and 9th amendment rights. The NSA’s use of information impedes on the first amendment in terms of freedom of press. For a journalist the source is the key, and the key stays confidential. With the NSA collecting digital trails there is a higher risk for whistle blowers to be charged with criminal act or even assassinated. The courts stand by the NSA, for
Today, electronic surveillance remains one of the most effective tools the United States has to protect against foreign powers and groups seeking to inflict harm on the nation, but it does not go without a few possessing a few negative aspects either. Electronic surveillance of foreign intelligence has likely saved the lives of many innocent people through prevention of potential acts of aggression towards the United States. There are many pros to the actions authorized under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) pertaining to electronic surveillance, but there are also cons. Looking at both the pros and cons of electronic surveillance is important in understanding the overall effectiveness of FISA. [1]
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 protect the country from outside risks. They can collect anything from the people’s phone data to their browser history and use it against them in the court of law. Since the catastrophes of 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 agree that the NSA should be strengthened and others who think their powers should be limited or terminated. Although strengthening NSA surveillance may help the
NSA infringes on the 1st and 4th Amendment rights. America was the safe zone: a lot of people came to the United States so that they would have the freedom to express who they are, what they believe, and their thoughts without punishment. Edward Snowden, NSA whistle blower, wasn’t allowed that freedom when he made it know what the NSA was doing with Verizon’s phone records. Snowden did break the law but he brought awareness of this dilemma to the average citizen, villain, and hero. In the end, it caused the NSA to change some policies but it doesn’t even make a difference because still the administration continues to collect data without a cause. Correction: the NSA uses surveillance to protect United States of America from terrorist, terrorism and terrorism related crimes… The agency’s interpretation: anyone and anything under the sun.
“After years of denial, much of which likely constituted perjury, officials of the National Security Agency (NSA) admitted to having conducted unwarranted surveillance of Americans, a violation of the protections against such searches provided by the Fourth Amendment.” "NSA Admits Directly Targeting Americans for Warrantless Surveillance." NSA Admits Directly Targeting Americans for Warrantless Surveillance. Web. 8 Apr. 2015. The NSA abuses their power by going to the extreme and spying on innocent citizens warrantless. It isn’t fair to the society. The NSA shouldn’t be able to view anyone’s personal information without a warrant. With or without a warrant, The NSA should still have certain rules that will create boundaries. President Obama and the National Security Chief stated that they do not monitor the communications of
After the terrorist attacks of September 11th 2001, an American public was shocked, flabbergasted, and lost for words for the first time since Pearl Harbor. Out of these fears the PATRIOT act was conceived; promising to help stop future terrorist plots the bill was initially met with high praise from the public and media. It was not for another decade that the side-effects of the patriot act were revealed to the world. The American public was appalled at the circumvention of their fourth Amendment rights. Still there is a clear divide between those who believe that the National Security Agency Is not violating the constitution and what they are doing is good for the betterment of the country and those who believe that their privacy and undeniable American freedoms were violated in part of the NSA spying with both parties bringing their own views and ideals to the field. The September eleventh attacks were the beginning of the end of privacy for American citizens the PATRIOT act which was signed a month later granted full access to the phones and computers of the people. It took over a decade for the public to become aware of the illegal spying that the NSA had conducted. The NSA spying is a complicated and controversial matter while there have been several judicial courts that have ruled against the spying there has also been just as many cases of the court 's finding the spying constitutional.
ACLU. (2017). The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act - News and Resources. Retrieved from ACLU: https://www.aclu.org/other/foreign-intelligence-surveillance-act-news-and-resources. This Act was enacted in 1978 but did not have many controversial aspects in it and was later blamed for not providing enough powers to aid the process of collecting intelligence. Some security experts blamed the restriction in the Act for the poor intelligence leading to the September 11, 2001, attacks.
The US government justifies the invasion to the privacy of their citizens saying it is a matter of security to the country. All of these privacy invasion started days after the 9/11 attack. The government and the NSA say this is a matter of safety for the US, by tracking their people, knowing what they are doing and whom they’re talking to. NSA had been on court ever since the US citizens saw something wrong and all they do is deny what their doing and the only answer that wasn’t a NO was “If our people (NSA employees) do this it isn’t on purpose”. How come can you tell that tracking someone isn’t on purpose?
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.
another big problem with NSA surveillance is that it supposedly only monitors international communications, and technically it does. Here’s the catch, if you were to send an email to a friend or coworker in a different country the NSA would intercept inspect and sometimes copy that email. Furthermore the NSA does not simply intercept specific communications that contain sensitive information but catches all of it and then search for sensitive information. Yes this makes it a lot easier for them to intercept terrorist communications but it makes it much easier for them to abuse their power. This is because, as good as our government is it is not above corruption any NSA employee with access to the intercepted communications.
The average person is willing to look the other way at civil liberties violations if law enforcement is disrupting legitimate threats to national security, not petty crimes. It’s a terrible precedent when the government’s vast spying technology crosses over into routine law enforcement. Whenever the subject of federal government domestic spying programs is broached, the argument is always framed within the confines of a hypothetical circumstance if the government were to establish a technological police state. However, we are already beyond the hypothetical stage and have entered into the preliminary stage. That statement may seem outrageous at first, but consider the fact that the NSA is supposed to only be focused on matters of national security, hence the name National Security Agency. Nor is the agency allowed to spy on American citizens, but an investigative report by Reuters documented how the NSA has for decades been coordinating with U.S. law enforcement agencies to prosecute crimes that have nothing to do with national security.
After 9/11, people lined up for miles to get gas and raided grocery stores for supplies. But as a matter of fact, a recent survey has found that 65% of Americans believe that the NSA monitoring search histories has prevented several attacks (Sherfinski). Further on in another study, it showed that 56% of americans were worried that the NSA and the United States Government has not gone far enough with its anti-terror policies (Rainie and Maniam). This shows the majority of America thinks the U.S. is on its way to a safe nation but we are not there yet. Monitoring the searches will help get us closer, but it takes the whole nation’s help. Sometimes people just have to make a sacrifice for freedom. What the NSA is doing is trying to create a good balance of social order in the United States. This is very tough to do; they are trying to give people their social equality but at the same time, keep the peace. Social order can be defined as a society that is stable and accepted by its members. A stable society is one free from attacks and that is self sufficient. That is the ultimate goal of the NSA: to make the country stable. A woman from New Jersey who was in Manhattan on 9/11 said, "Do whatever's necessary. We've got nothing to hide. Giving up privacy is the price we pay" (Noble). What this is saying is people have to make sacrifices everyday in America in order to get freedom, whether it’s a policeman, a soldier, or a TSA officer. President Trump once said, "a lot of bad dudes out there," (“Donald Trump Defends. . .”). There are people all over the world that don’t believe in America’s views and will go to histrionic lengths to make sure America is not free, and it’s our job to fight back. So help the NSA restore social order in the country and as Trump says, “make America great
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
What the government wants to do is put as many drones in the air in order to stay vigilant against dangerous individuals, since they suspect that anyone can be a criminal. This evidence is important because it contains a written statement that says the government is willing to get drones in the air, and they don’t care if people don’t feel like they have privacy out on the streets. The author can be trusted because they got written evidence from a government official about how they want drones in the air, and there are not many authors like that. Government spying is a waste of time since everyone is a target. From Opposing Viewpoints, an article was created to talk about how drones are either a safety benefit, or a privacy threat. In this