In the twenty-first century, almost everyone in the United States has a cellular device. These devices are being made from the best cell phone companies of the time like Apple, Samsung, Google etcetera. Modern day technology has become such a large part of our lives it reached political discussions. This brings up the question, should the federal government force cellphone companies to aid them in criminal investigations? Although many citizens believe electronic surveillance is a great way of catching criminals and terrorist, cell phone companies should not be forced to unlock suspected criminals' phones because that would be a violation of the 4th amendment right given to the people by the United States Constitution. It would break agreements made between clients and cell phone companies, same as the federal government finds a way to unlock anyone's cell phone without needing help from the cell phone companies. Critics believe that electronic surveillance will help gather more information about criminal cases and help prevent further terrorist attacks. Although electronic may prevent future terrorist attacks and criminal activity, it is an illegal way to prevent future attacks and criminal activities. Before bringing up the 4th amendment rights, readers must first know exactly what it states and who or what it protects. "The Fourth Amendment guarantees the "right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and
The purpose for the Fourth Amendment is to protect people from intrusion of the government in areas where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy. It prohibits searches and seizures unless they are conducted with probable cause and under reasonable circumstances. “The Fourth Amendment only protects against searches and seizures conducted by the government or pursuant to governmental direction. Surveillance and investigatory actions taken by strictly private persons, such as private investigators, suspicious spouses, or nosey neighbors, are not governed by the Fourth Amendment” (Criminal.Findlaw.com, 2013).
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution states, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized”. It consists of two clauses, the reasonableness clause which focuses on the reasonableness of a search and seizure and the warrant clause which limits the scope of a search. There are many views on how the Fourth Amendment should be interpreted, especially by today’s standards. The world has evolved significantly since the implementation of the Bill of Rights. As it evolved, time brought about numerous cases on the applicability of the Fourth Amendment. When plaintiffs are not satisfied with the decision of lower courts, they can
In the Fourth Amendment of the U.S Constitution provides privacy as it states in the Constitution “the rights of the people to be secure in their persons, house, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched,and the persons or things to be seized.” this amendment assures you how you have the right to your privacy a personal life or just technology without a search warrants. The Fourth Amendment was added to the Bill of Rights because it deals with the privacy for the individuals and because the people have the right to feel secure in their house or while using their technologies. There has been many court cases regarding the rights that the Fourth Amendment provides. For example in the article “Creating a Fourth Amendment loophole” talks about how there was a policeman who suspected drugs in an apartment and kicked the door open without a search warrant. When they
The Fourth Amendment gives people the right to be secure in their persons, house, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizure. Warrants shall only be issued with probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation. Furthermore, the place to be searched should be described, and the person or things to be seized. After 9/11 America’s view on terrorism changed and so did its approach to intelligence gathering. Just weeks after 9/11 the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 was passed. Eventually the USA PATRIOT Act expired and was replaced with the USA FREEDOM Act. These Acts generated a tremendous amount of controversy, however I believe it does not violate a person’s Fourth Amendment rights.
The Fourth Amendment is a big key to make sure that people are following laws concerning terrorism. Expansions such as the Patriot Act on the Fourth Amendment allows the government to gain access to information previously not accessible. This act was passed so that events such as the 9/11 attacks could be prevented, and it’s been working since its passing. The expansions have tremendously helped searches for terrorists through information such as their recent texts or calls. When the Act was passed, the government immediately put it into effect, and the terroristic threat rate started dropping. There were many reasons for this act passing, but the main reason is to decrease the chance of homeland security being breached, like events such as
The Bill of Rights is a necessary piece of the Constitution, written to protect the people of the United States of America. The fourth amendment in particular is designed to protect one from unreasonable searches and seizures of ones property. A search or seizure is considered unreasonable without an issued search warrant. However, a peace officer may search without having a search warrant if there is probable cause. According to Cornell University Law School “The Fourth Amendment applies to the search and seizure of electronic devices.” The fourth amendment does have rules set for protection of telephonic and electronic activities requiring search warrants, but the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center has altered this law.
The government’s interpretation of the Fourth Amendment has been used to amass a collection of phone records, gain access to other records, and carry out search and seizure without a warrant; however, the government has used this approach to find threats to America.
The Fourth Amendment was purposeful to create a good constitutional relationship between U.S. citizens and frighten power of law enforcement. This Amendment has mainly three components. Firstly, its main intension is to maintain privacy by recognizing the rights of U.S. citizens to be “secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects.” Secondly
The Fourth Amendment has limits on the government’s rights to search our houses and businesses and to seize documents and other personal effects. It requires that the government should have reasonable cause for the search and seizure. That is, there must be a proof to support the specific search. The main drawback of the Fourth Amendment is first, personal information is not safe in our homes or in our offices. Most of the laws allow police to get access from nongovernment databases without any
The 4th amendment to the US Constitution serve as a security to the privacy of citizen but as American citizen would rarely have the government to use the surveillance to ensure the nation security from terrorist threat. People use the internet, phones, and cameras to record information. The government do wire taps and now even in the City of Atlanta we have camera on light poles and on the streets in downtown but it is for a good reason to help protect the people that work, live and walk the streets this also help the police where that they are short of help. I think the government has stop more attacks on the country using the surveillance since 9/11 incident. I believed if this will help protect us then the government
“The consciousness of being at war, and therefore in danger, makes the handing-over of all power to a small caste seem the natural, unavoidable condition of survival” (Orwell). The world today is full of many dangers domestic and abroad. It has become a routine in the news to report on the daily mass shooting or update with the war on terror. We live in a world where being worried is justified; however, we should not give up our constitutional rights in the face of fear. The NSA’s dragnet surveillance programs, such as PRISM, are both ineffective and are surpassed by less questionable national security programs. The FISA court's’ approval of NSA actions are not only illegal, but exist as an embarrassing formality. Surveillance is a necessary
The fourth amendment states that, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized”. This amendment has been extended to secure the protection of some personal information. This interpretation of the fourth amendment has been the deciding factor in several Supreme Court decisions.
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?
Technology has become very effective for a thriving generation, but it also possesses a handful of flaws that counter the benefits. Technologies help people post and deliver a message in a matter of seconds in order to get a message spread quickly. It also gives individuals the power to be the person they want to be by only showing one side of themselves. But sometimes information that had intentions of remaining protected gets out. That information is now open for all human eyes to see. This information, quite frankly, becomes everybody’s information and can be bought and sold without the individual being aware of it at all. However, this is no accident. Americans in the post 9/11 era have grown accustomed to being monitored. Government entities such as the NSA and laws such as the Patriot Act have received power to do so in order to protect security of Americans. However, the founding fathers wrote the fourth amendment to protect against violations of individual’s privacy without reason. In a rapidly growing technological world, civil liberties are increasingly being violated by privacy wiretapping from government entities such as the NSA, Patriot Act and the reduction of the Fourth Amendment.
Over the past few years, there has been an increased amount of surveillance in world cities. Due to an increased threat of terrorism, many governments have increased the amount of security they use and the limitations on human freedom. By using different types of technologies, government organizations can “listen in on cell phone calls, use voice recognition to scan mobile networks, read emails and text messages, censor web pages, track a citizen’s every movement using GPS, and can even change email contents while en route to a recipient” (Electronic Frontier Foundation, 2014). They have the ability to secretly turn on webcams built into personal laptops and microphones in cell phones not being used, and can do so at any time without the user knowing. Governments everywhere are using all of this information, filtering it and organizing it on such a large scale, that it can be used to spy on almost every person in a world city, and even an entire country. The way governments watch their citizens operates like Jeremy Bentham’s Panopticon prison. A Panopticon is a prison in which the guard can view all the inmates in their cells without being seen themselves (Sage Publications, 2012). This means that inmates would be watched at all times. However, Bentham recognized that constant surveillance was not possible, and the design would make the inmates unsure or whether he or she was being watched. This led the prisoners to believe that they were always being watched, which could