The Invasion Of Privacy

Surveillance cameras are found in places all around the globe. As these cameras become more popular, people have become concerned with their own privacy. Some common locations of these cameras are in stores, restaurants, on streets, and in home security systems. When a crime is committed, there can be verbal evidence provided by bystanders, but there is not more absolute proof than the proof that is provided by these cameras. Even though some people argue that surveillance cameras are an invasion of privacy, they definitely do more help than harm.

In the brainwashed society of Oceania in 1984, by George Orwell, led by a totalitarian government in the name of a leader known as Big Brother, citizens are placed under constant surveillance from the government, preventing them from having individuality and freedom of thought. Although written in a fictional setting, the book strikes analogous similarities to the United States in today’s world. Due to a growth in surveillance, personal information and privacy are being intervened, however, not violated. While technological advances are increasing and crimes such as hacking and terrorism are becoming more prominent in society, government surveillance is becoming largely needed to ensure the protection

“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.

Orwell portrayed privacy in 1984 by using “telescreens and thought police,” as forms of surveillance over the population. Surveillance was a strategy used to enforce Oceana’s laws against thought crimes, so that the Party would always be one-step ahead of the people. Today Americans have a similar form of systematic monitoring through technology, which in contrast to Oceana; have increased the standard of living. The government invades America’s privacy right under its nose, through digital entry points that are used as accommodations to American lives. Privacy will result in the loss of freedom, because the people no longer decide what information about their lives are revealed.

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.

Nowadays in today’s society it's like if we’re living 1984 just how George Orwell predicted it would be. At all times we are all being monitored whether it's thru a camera or an electronic. The national security is now able to keep telephone & internet records. Just when you thought your private moments were private, turns out you're wrong.

In the book, every action and thought of every citizen of Oceania is being monitored by the telescreens and the thought police. Even in the their homes, they are being monitored by telescreens, and if anyone suspects someone of having thoughts that might provoke the Big Brother’s power, the suspects are mysteriously taken away and leave no tracks behind of their existence in history. Similar to the modern age, much of the privacy of people have been taken away due to improvements to technology and its uses to keep people safe. Unfortunately many of the inventions that were meant to keep safe have upset many people about their invasion of privacy. For example, drones were originally used for military purposes to keep the country safe but recently, there have been complaints of drones spying on people. Another example of invasion of privacy is the use of phones and phone apps. Using location service apps such as a GPS or Find My iPhone can be easy ways to track where somebody is at any given moment. Social media also makes it difficult to keep an individual’s information private because of its allowance of people’s information to be seen by the public. Social media sites such as Twitter or Facebook can be seen by almost anyone on the web when searched, and so, the information on someone’s private life is also able to be seen by anyone on the web.

Privacy is an especially equivocal idea, in particularly because invasion of privacy is a concept that is arguably questionable. Privacy has been defined as the right to be left alone without unwarranted intrusion by government, media, or other institutions or individuals. While this definition serves as a quick start to the right of privacy, there are still several interpretations as to what may or may not constitute as an invasion of privacy. What one person may believe to be an innocent curiosity, another may feel as though it is an deliberate invasion of privacy. Often these disputes make their way into courtrooms and are subjected to controversy and evaluation.

Orwell’s 1984 brought up the idea that people hardly had privacy in the novel, but when you compare it to today's American technology the lack of privacy is closely becoming the exact same as 1984. In today's society no matter where you look someone is on their phone or on some type of electronic device, from walking on the sidewalk to watching people drive by using their phones. But what people do not know is the danger in not paying attention to what control your apps have on your phone. Not knowing that someone could hack your webcam and could be secretly watching you through your webcam to finding your location, or collecting personal information about you on your social media accounts.

In the book 1984, by George Orwell surveillance has many similarities in our society today. Now a day the government can spy on anyone they want which means nobody has privacy on their phones. Surveillance is something most people do not believe because most people believe that when they are on technology they have all their privacy. Technology takes us closer to the world of big brother because through technology Big brother watches them through surveillance cameras.

The book 1984 depicts a society unimaginable to most; however, a further look shows us that we actually do live in an Orwellian society. Orwell describes a country called Oceania made of multiple continents which is ruled by the dictatorial “Big Brother” who uses different systems like the “thought police” and “telescreens” in order to have full control over the country. Our democratic government, through organizations such as the NSA and NGI, can look through our most private conversations and moments using spyware. Due to the secrecy of the government, citizens in 1984, as well as those in our society, fear the government.

We have all experienced it. The tingles down your spine while your sixth sense picks up someone’s harsh eyes scanning you. You are being watched. As the little hairs stand up on your neck and the chill of judgment floods your body, you choke on the insecurity that comes over you. Some break out in a nervous sweat and drown themselves in doubt; others do not hesitate to send beams of criticism back. Many stare with innocent intentions while others purposely hope to provoke anxiety. However, if you did not know that someone’s cruel eyes were on you, would it be just as bothersome? Since 2000, internet security has been an issue that many feel is a violation of their privacy. This controversial topic has hit almost all newspapers with

“I grew up with the understanding that the world I lived in was one where people enjoyed a sort of freedom to communicate with each other in privacy, without it being monitored, without it being measured or analyzed or sort of judged by these shadowy figures or systems, any time they mention anything that travels across public lines” - Edward Snowden. Digital Privacy can happen anywhere and anytime. The government is listening, recording our conversations from our phones and spy on every citizen through their phone, computer and camera. In 1984, Winston Smith is always being watched through telescreens and being heard from the microphone hidden behind the bushes. The novel is accurate, effective and makes good predictions because we live in

Possibly the technological feature creating the most controversy is surveillance cameras. What is seemingly there for public safety could also inhibit safety by exposing the public’s private life. Every move made under the hawk-like vision of the camera is observed and judged by someone sitting behind the scenes. Women risk being stalked by sexual predators, and assailants have been known to memorize the schedule of a subject in order to time the perfect attack (Stead). “Bad cops” may gain insight to a personal life that allows for the watcher to blackmail the victim. In recent studies it has been proven that an increase in surveillance cameras does not decrease the crime rate; it

Technological advances have altered human life in both negative and positive ways. One negative aspect is the invasion of privacy. While the risk for invasion of privacy is greater in the age of big data, access to more information greatly benefits society as a whole. In this essay, I assess how to weigh the tension between sharing clinical data and protecting a subject’s privacy. By appealing to two of the bioethical principles, I argue that clinical data should be shared.