Imagine a world where you are being watched by the government all the time. This sounds similar to the classical dystopian novel 1984, where Big Brother invades the private lives of its citizens including, the protagonist, Winston. Even though our society is not as invasive we have our own big brother, the NSA. Although it protects U.S. national security, the government should discontinue the surveillance done by the NSA because it is detrimental the U.S. economy the Constitution and the citizens of the U.S.
The National Security Agency, NSA, is an intelligence organization of the United States government, responsible for global monitoring, collection and processing of information and data for foreign intelligence and counterintelligence. In 2013, whistleblower Edward Snowden leaked documents revealing the lengths of the National Security Agency’s surveillance on the United States’ citizens. This caused mass debate of privacy vs. security over the agency’s surveillance. Some major arguments for and against the NSA surveillance have involved the sections of the Constitution. These include : The Fourth Amendment which 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” and “Section 702 [of
The watch of the government should be to the limit of protecting the citizens, not spying on them, ”Down in the street little eddies of wind were whirling dust and torn paper into spirals, and though the sun was shining and the sky a harsh blue, there seemed to be no color in anything, except the posters that were plastered everywhere. The black mustachioed face gazed down from every commanding corner. There was one on the house-front immediately opposite. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption said, while the dark eyes looked deep into Winston's own” ("1984 Power Quotes"). Citizens needs privacy in public, in private, and in mind. Big brother represents protection, but at the same time it is scary to think that he is “watching you”. Safety is crucial in today’s society, because there are many things that are harmful. ”The ACLU has been at the forefront of the struggle to prevent the entrenchment of a surveillance state by challenging the secrecy of the government’s surveillance and watchlisting practices; its violations of our rights to privacy, free speech, due process, and association; and its stigmatization of minority communities and activists disproportionately targeted by surveillance”("Privacy and Surveillance"). Invading the privacy of others can lead to many serious consequences. If one is trying to protect another, it is their responsibility to do it correctly. Privacy is
Government surveillance is beneficial in moderation, but can quite easily become excessive. A well-known example of this is the controversy regarding the NSA monitoring U.S. citizens discreetly on American soil. This unwarranted watch crosses the fine line between monitoring criminal suspects for security, and blatant overreach of authority in spying common citizens. The personal infringement of information has been commonly associated with the NSA’s PRISM, but their MUSCULAR program is much more disconcerting. According to Harry Bruinius in “Why Tech Giants Are Now Uniting Against U.S. Surveillance”:
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.
The fourth amendment is designed to protect the privacy of its citizens, its ultimate goal is to protect the right of privacy from the arbitrary government. Due to the fourth amendment, the NSA can only record the phone numbers and the duration of citizen’s phone calls, not the content. Nobody can heedfully listen onto the content of your phone calls because of the fourth amendment. As well as phone calls, the NSA can also not read or document your personal emails. If the NSA does conduct any illegal recordings of any sort the information cannot be used in court or to prosecute an individual. Lastly, if the NSA wants to access any information of phone calls or emails of citizens, they must acquire a court order or a warrant to access the information
The National Security Agency (NSA) has been an information gathering arm of the Executive branch since the Cold War and continues to be an essential part of ensuring the security of the United States. The public issue that involves the NSA is the spying of U.S citizens which can be seen as a violation of the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. This was revealed to the public by the whistleblower Edward Snowden who released classified documents of activities that the NSA had been conducting in conjuncture with telecommunication companies, which angered many U.S citizens and received media coverage with a call for the U.S Government to restrict the NSA’s activities or at least for there to be Congressional oversight. This debate revolves around how much the NSA’s surveillance activities are actually used for national security as well as the constitutionality of the NSA’s surveillance. This all began after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 when there was a call for the attacks to never happen again and the adoption of the Patriot Act in that same year which increased the power of the NSA.
Despite the Fourth Amendment being created to protect the privacy of the American people, the NSA and other government agencies have put that to the test by using legislation such as the Patriot Act to data mine Americans, keep records on individuals, and create a tension between the American people and the Government, although it has helped the war on
The purpose of the National Security Association, sometimes referred to as the NSA, is to protect citizens from terrorist attacks on our country. The NSA has succeeded because they can invade our civil liberties to get the information they want. A delicate organization like the NSA struggles to find the difference between using information, and abusing it. The government abuses our civil liberties by disregarding the fourth amendment-protecting people’s privacy.
You’re constantly being watched, the NSA collect the data from over 75,000 people daily. The NSA, or National Security Agency, is responsible for collecting and monitoring all this data that they gather. They collect all this data to help the government as they are a government agency. They truly do help the United States by monitoring this data to help protect the citizens, but still people find a way to oppose it. Even though it might violate people 's right to privacy, the NSA helps protect citizens with their ability to collect and search through large amounts of data, and using this information from to prevent possible attacks on the United states from actually happening.
You’re constantly being watched over and protected, the NSA collects the data from over 75,000 people daily. The NSA, or National Security Agency, is responsible for collecting and monitoring all this data that they gather. They collect all this data to help the government as they are a government agency. They truly do help the United States by monitoring this data to help protect the citizens, but still people find a way to oppose it. Even though it might violate people 's right to privacy, the NSA helps protect citizens with their ability to collect and search through large amounts of data, and using this information from to prevent possible attacks on the United states from actually happening.
Total surveillance. Complete obedience. Absolute authority. The world of 1984 scared me when I first read the book last year. Never before had a book made me think so deeply about individuality, society, and government. 1984, a manifestation of my nightmares, described a totalitarian police state of resolute submission. The horror came when I looked upon our own society, and Big Brother glared back at me. We live in a world where every phone call, every text, every search, and every email can be monitored and recorded by our own government. The National Security Agency, or the NSA, was originally proposed to monitor threats outside of the United States, but the NSA began domestic surveillance shortly after the horrific terror attacks of 2001. This cleared the way for warrantless, unlawful tracking of American citizens. Initially, the program collected only the data of high-risk individuals in America with direct links to Al-Qaeda. Now, however, government data collection has spread to millions of otherwise innocent citizens. Government surveillance is a direct violation of the privacy of American citizens that is dangerous, immoral, and unlawful.
Dingwen Zhang English 3 12 August 2016 NSA Surveillance NSA Surveillance: Is safety worth losing freedom? Recently there is debate about if it is okay for the United States government to spy on citizens using NSA and FBI. This became common knowledge when Edward Snowden leaked millions of documents that show the government is spying on the public. The United States government should not keep the NSA surveillance going because it hurts the public more than it keeps the public safe.
The Fourth Amendment, Search and Seizure, states, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches, and seizures… “. This has been violated by the NSA. They have searched citizens’ personal emails and phone records without warrants under the protection of the Protect America Act and it has gone too far! Invasion of privacy is a big problem; and it is allowed! For example, in 2003, Charles S. Cole Jr., a bar owner, was paranoid that his bathrooms and restaurant were being destroyed by customers.
The NSA is an agency that started surveillance on U.S. citizens and people around the world after 9/11 occurred to ensure the nation’s security. The goal of the NSA is to ultimately protect citizens of the U.S. and to keep a massive terrorist event from occurring in the country again. The NSA collected numerous amounts of data on people to find any type of threat that could lead to the distress of the country, but citizens were not aware of this surveillance. The NSA’s secret was eventually exposed and left not only U.S. citizens, but countries around the world outraged. As mentioned in the article, Edward Snowden: Leaks That Exposed US Spy Programme, by BBC News, “The scandal broke in early June 2013 when the Guardian newspaper
The NSA’s illegal spying is in complete contrast with our constitution, the base of our society. According to the Cornell University Law School, the fourth amendment states that:
Keeping the United States of America safe from foreign threats is far from an easy task. However, preventing domestic threats is a much more complicated and delicate one. Government organizations such as the National Security Agency [NSA] are known to have invaded our privacy through our connection to technology. The NSA has publicly admitted to the surveillance. Due to media coverage, the NSA is often viewed as the main agency that bulk collects data. Emails, phone calls, and even our text messages have been surveilled under an NSA program known as “PRISM” (“Domestic Surveillance Techniques”). Everyday government organizations invade our privacy for the sake of national security in an attempt to defend us from domestic threats, but it seems they often take surveillance a step too far. United States citizens should understand legality of these actions, as well as the purpose this data collection serves.