After the gruesome attacks of 9/11, the United States government passed a legislation called the Patriot Act in attempt to cut down on the terror attacks. This act gives the NSA, or National Security Agency, the ability to oversee our actions. The NSA’s approach to surveilling the population is obtaining the information by tapping into technology, such as phone calls, internet pages and searches, and viewing emails and texts. Thus, controversy has triggered due to the fact that these actions are unconstitutional, and much terrorism that remains. The NSA should be greatly altered because they invade the privacy of Americans, unlawfully goes against the constitution, and we lose our rights. To begin with, the NSA invades the privacy of American citizens through the use of surveillance. According to the text “People in most cities are probably captured on cameras daily, if not multiple times a day," Harper said. "As these cameras network together, and they as they are better capable at recognizing individual faces, people will realize just how they are being watched" (Moriarty). Innocent people are being recorded when they have no reason to be surveilled. …show more content…
According to the text “Our value is founded on a unique and deep understanding of risks, vulnerabilities, mitigations, and threats. Domestic Surveillance plays a vital role in our national security by using advanced data mining systems to "connect the dots" to identify suspicious patterns” (NSA). One of the slogans of the NSA is, “if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear. However, if you have nothing to hide there is no argumentation as to why the NSA taps into any form of communication or access to the internet. Therefore, this withdraws the power of the people and puts it directly back into the government and, simultaneously belittles citizen’s
Newton, M. (2003) “The FBI encyclopedia”. United States: McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers. In World War II, the ASA worked with the FBI on a project called “Venona,” the eavesdropping on the Soviet Union and their partners. The National Security Agency was formed when Venona was separated from the U.S Army.
After the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, the United States government reacted quickly and firmly with the USA PATRIOT Act (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism). The purpose of this act was to prevent another terror attack of the same magnitude as the 9/11 attack, but some people believe this act encroaches too heavily on civil rights. The USA PATRIOT Act (Patriot Act) threatens liberty more than it hinders terrorism, goes against the Constitution, and needs to be modified so it doesn’t breach the Constitution. The USA PATRIOT Act interferes with the liberties of companies and people in the United States while doing more to impact lawful Americans than terrorists.
In response, the United States implemented the USA Patriot Act (Uniting and Strengthening America by providing appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act), significantly impacting homeland security within the country. The act introduced surveillance measures, such as monitoring communication networks like telephones and texts, to gather data and identify suspicious activity. Additionally, it allowed for the scrutiny of business records and financial transactions, aiding authorities in investigating potential terrorist acts and funding sources. According to statistics from the Pew Research Center, 42% of the public viewed the Patriot Act as a necessary tool to combat terrorism, while 34% believed it went too far and posed a threat to civil liberties. These differing perspectives reflect an ongoing debate regarding the act's impact on national security and civil liberties.
Though the NSA has economically benefited the United States by helping the prevention of attacks by the terrorist, giving fund towards the government and use of programs, and also the prevention of others hacking and taking over the system, it is believed that it is best if the NSA just does not continue any further. With the continuation of the NSA it can cost more taxes to be removed and invading our privacy which is against our rights in the constitution 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. ” We can solve the problem of the NSA invasion by shutting down their programs causing them to not invade our privacy and use money which could be used for many other
Although the Patriot Act presents virtually many positives, the overall aspect of its existence is detrimental to the citizens of the United States as a whole. Originally being passed in order to protect the country from acts of terrorism, the specificities of the Patriot Act were never underlined which has since led to a much more generalized definition of what legal actions can be pursued on the basis of the Act. Essentially, the Patriot Act should be abolished because it infringes on constitutional rights of citizens, it lacks effectiveness in its goal, and the manner in which it was passed makes you question whether or not it was fully thought through. The Founding Fathers created the Constitution in order to protect the rights of citizens
In 2001 only a little over a month after 911 The Patriot Act was passed. On the surface the act seems to be concerned with the safety of the American people; however it was reactionary, a result of the culture of fear created by America’s first experience with terrorism, a word that still holds a powerful
why the NSA is bad some people believe that everything on the internet should be monitored by the NSA, well i believe that is completely wrong and unjust. for a couple reasons. But the main one is that it goes against the fourth amendment in the constitution. The fourth amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures and requires any warrant to be judicially sanctioned and supported by a probable cause, which means that the NSA can 't search your messages,calls,search history, or data unless they have a reason that is lawful and approved by a judge. But in most cases they don 't have it approved.
There are many constitutional implications of government spying programs, one of those being a complete violation of privacy here in the United States. Snowden himself exposed the NSA, as he noted that calls were recorded and various other electronic data were collected on many individuals and kept for future use. There is no denying that the use of spying programs violates an American’s 4th amendment and it often leads to people refraining from posting something controversial due to the fear of being watched. Ever since the WikiLeaks documents were publicized, many people feel paranoid, and rightly so. People used to be able to talk, post and do anything they wanted to with complete freedom.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated… We all know the fourth amendment. It's the amendment that guarantees our safety within our homes and our personal belongings. Yet, how much do you know about the fourth amendment? The fourth amendment is full of history, controversy, and discussion, even in modern day.
While there are still debates on the exact scope of government surveillance, the fact that there have been steps taken to limit its excesses shows that the United States values individual rights. As technology advances and security threats evolve, it will be important for policymakers to continue to evaluate the role of surveillance in national security and ensure that privacy protections are not sacrificed in the name of
The Need for NSA Domestic surveillance plays a vital role in maintaining the country’s national security, and to reassure the citizens that they are properly protected from foreign and domestic attacks. The National Security Agency monitors Americans and other individuals around the world, who may be considered to be potential threats to the United States, and therefore bringing the nation under a state of emergency. The NSA is a subtle and yet legitimate way of preventing attacks against the United States, as the agency is governed by a particular set of legal rules in which they are permitted to exercise their powers in the benefit of the nation’s well being. The professional surveillance carried out by the NSA is an integral part of the
The whole point of the Fourth Amendment is not to completely stop the police, because the amendment can be waived if an officer has a warrant, or a person’s consent. The Fourth Amendment states that generally a search or seizure is illegal unless there is a warrant, or special circumstances. Technically stating that a citizen is protected by the Fourth Amendment, until a government employee gets a warrant, and then they can invade a citizen’s privacy. Also people state that the FISA Court’s warrants are constitutional, but the NSA’s surveillance is unconstitutional. Even though people do not like the NSA’s surveillance, the NSA is legal because the FISA Court that the people did not mind makes it legal.
The terrorist attacks on our country that occurred on September 11, 2001 were, without a doubt, the most horrific and deadly in our history. In the aftermath of these attacks, the United States Congress moved quickly to pass legislation that untied the hands of law enforcement in an effort to make investigating terrorist organizations easier. On October 26, 2001, a mere 45 days after the 9/11 tragedy, Congress passed the USAPATRIOT (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism) Act. The overall purpose of the USA PATRIOT Act was: “To deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world, to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools, and for other purposes
In the midst of potential war and terror many are worried of what the future holds. This is how the American people felt after the terrible terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon on September 11, 2001. The government had to think fast and make brash decisions to protect our country, and The Patriot Act (during the time) was the best solution. The Patriot Act was one of the fastest acts passed, many government officials were only thinking of the present, and ways to prevent foreign attack. The act has been edited several times over the years due to many mistakes of violating individual’s rights.
Civil liberties are rights guaranteed to citizens in the Constitution that the government cannot interfere with, however, in the name of national security, they do. The government sometimes finds it necessary for Americans to give up some of their basic rights to keep the nation protected, but many people find this unnecessary. A law-abiding citizen’s extremely personal information should not be essential to finding terroristic threats within this society. Under no circumstances should an American citizen’s civil liberties be violated in a time of war or crisis, because those are assured rights that are most valuable to their freedom during national conflicts.