The Influence Of Spying On America's Privacy

Whether it is calling someone on your phone or online shopping on the computer, people are more connected than ever to the internet. However, a person might be oblivious to the fact that they are being watched using these technologies. The NSA (National Security Agency) is an intelligence organization for the U.S. to protect information systems and foreign intelligence information. Recently the NSA has been accused of invading personal privacy through web encryption, tracking, and using personal information for their own uses and without permission. The surveillance of the NSA produces unlawful invasion of privacy causing an unsecure nation.

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.

Since the time the framers of the constitution, technology has improved significantly which has led to an increasing concern in the privacy of an individual. Technology, used by government agencies and commercial enterprises, has led to a change in one’s privacy and freedom. For this reason, the agencies and enterprises have been called into question of infringement of the fourth. Using the lessons learned from history, the framers of the constitutions created the fourth amendment, which protects from unreasonable searches, and the fifth amendment, which prevents a person from incriminating himself or herself, to create a government with just laws, but with the advancement in technology, the fourth amendment needs to expand its policies to fit the changes in modern society.

The misuse of our personal information collected by private and public institutions has made privacy, or the lack of it, a major societal concern today. One of the biggest reasons privacy has become such an issue is the enactment of the “Patriot Act”, signed into law in reaction to the attacks on 9/11/2001. This act broadened the ability for the US government to collect surveillance on people in order to protect against terrorism inside the US. Critiques say it violates our civil liberties and undermines our democracy. One example of this is the collection and storage of phone data by the government under the Patriot Act. Is this an invasion of privacy? In order to keep society safe, a certain amount of private information has to be known by Law Enforcement. In order to collect taxes and for society to function, the government also needs some information. Collecting basic information isn’t an invasion of privacy, but the collection phone data is too intrusive. Can the public trust the government to not miss-use or lose the information they have on them?

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.

Over the past few years, government surveillance in the United States has become a widely debated issue with two completely different sides. The National Security Agency, a government agency known for it’s efforts in spying and surveillance, has been at the center of this issue since it’s founding in the 1950’s. The Cold War had just begun and the United States government was doing anything they could to find potential terrorists and communists. In fact, many famous people including Einstein were being spied on by the government to find citizens with potential ties to the Soviet Union. (New York Times - New Details Emerge from the Einstein Files; How the FBI Tracked His Phone Calls and His Trash) As the cold war came to an end in the early 90’s, NSA spying seemed to come to an end as well.

“As the foregoing has made clear, personal information is an extension of the person. To have access to that information is to have access to the person in a particularly intimate way,” (McFarland). When the government takes a person’s private information to use for insensitive matters, they dehumanize the human, and strip a human of their rights to individuality and expression, going against the American way. When the government has the ability to spy on our lives they obtain greater advantage above us regular people. If we are not careful, and accept the government’s hold upon us as a norm, we will never be able to define ourselves as freedom thinkers, and humans with liberty and full rights to

Americans security and the Fourth Amendment have been conflicting since the origin of the amendment. Some Americans started to be at odds with whether their security is at risk with the amendment, yet other citizens feel that privacy is equally important. With the coming of the twenty first century complications between the two are certainly bound to occur. Since the coming of the digital age and mass production of personal electronics, people’s privacy becomes imminent. Simple reasoning shows America rebelled from Great Britain; and one of those reasons for America to fight for its independence is that there was no sensible privacy was being showed. Although the Fourth Amendment tries to protect the privacy of Americans data, it should be

The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution emphatically states that “no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause (Legal Information Institute 1.1).” Although the Fourth Amendment protects the privacy of people, today’s technology has led to privacy issues that need to be addressed. For example, when people comment on Twitter, it and a few other digital companies keep all the comments a person has ever posted (Daniel Zwerdling 1.2). Similarly, warrants must be used at all times if people are seizing information from someone, but searching through metadata does not require a warrant and there is no cause. Another issue is camera surveillance, which captures people who have not committed a crime, and security people do not need a warrant to

In this article, American Taught Police: Surveillance in the “Land of Freedom,” the author Nikki Jones talks and describes taught of being followed by technology everywhere you go. She talks about the consequences and the civil rights and liberties that the American Taught Police may steal form the citizen. She describes that device as the tracking device and that device follows you. She brings up the question of the fourth Amendment. The fourth amendment is supposed to protect the rights of the citizen through “Search and seizure.” In the second paragraph, the author, Nikki Jones, talks about how the FBI and the NSA collecting so much data without any warrants because there is a question of national security.

The Fourth Amendment makes certain that people are protected within themselves and “no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause.” Although the Fourth Amendment protects the privacy of people, today’s technology has led to privacy issues that need to be addressed. For illustration, when people comment on Twitter, Twitter and a few other digital companies keep all the comments a person has ever posted. Similarly, warrants must be used at all times if people are seizing information from someone, but searching through metadata does not need a warrant and there is no cause. Another issue is surveillance captures people with cameras, and people who have not committed a crime are still being watched, but security people do not need a warrant

Although the Fourth amendment protects our privacy and safety the government should be aloud to search our personal property with a search warrant given with a probable cause. A search in the eyes of the Fourth Amendment arises when a governmental employee or agent violates an individual's acceptable idea of privacy explains Cornell University Law school. Also, The American Civil Liberties Union says Fundamental problems say the government can not collect surveillance without probable cause. FISA amendment act signed into law by president Bush in 2008 expanded government authority to monitor Americans electronic communications claims the United states Senate Committee on the Judiciary. David Sirota Author of “Does the government actually understand

Privacy is what allows people to feel secure in their surroundings. With privacy, one is allowed to withhold or distribute the information they want by choice, but the ability to have that choice is being violated in today’s society. Benjamin Franklin once said, “He who sacrifices freedom or liberty will eventually have neither.” And that’s the unfortunate truth that is and has occurred in recent years. Privacy, especially in such a fast paced moving world, is extremely vital yet is extremely violated, as recently discovered the NSA has been spying on U.S. citizens for quite a while now; based on the Fourth Amendment, the risk of leaked and distorted individual information, as well as vulnerability to lack of anonymity.

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.

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.