Thesis Statement: The National Security Agency violates our constitutional rights by collecting data on our phone calls, messages, and Internet use without our consent.
Introduction:
I. Imagine a world where nothing is private. Every conversation had, every message sent, and everything you search for online can be seen or heard by a faceless entity at any given moment. In 2013, a man by the name of Edward Snowden revealed that this is a reality for Americans.
II. I have conducted extensive research on this topic.
III. What Edward Snowden revealed is something that affects all of us as a result of our use of phones and computers to communicate with one another.
IV. On October 24, 1952, President Truman created the National Security Agency as a way to intercept communication
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Since the fourth amendment in the Bill of Rights states that there shall be no unreasonable searches on American citizens without probable cause, NSA surveillance of Americans without consent breaches this right.
A. The NSA uses its surveillance to eliminate threats of terrorist attacks and to spy on foreign government and their possible threats. However, spying on Americans as well is a violation of constitutional rights.
1. The fact that the NSA uses surveillance for national security is not opposed, however spying on Americans as well is considered outrage.
2. Americans are not only upset about the fact that these programs were kept secret, but also because they shouldn’t exist in the first place. (Paul, “The NSA is still violating our rights, despite what James Clapper says”)
B. Americans have a right not only to know when they are being watched, but also to have a choice to protect their own privacy.
Lastly, I will be discussing some of the things that have happened since Snowden leaked this information.
III. President Obama stated that he will consider reforms and review government surveillance that year. (Childress, “How the NSA Spying Programs Have Changed Since
The Fourth Amendment makes people in American feel safe and secure. David Sirota author of “Does the government actually understand the 4th Amendment?” says,"a few years after it aired the director of national Intelligence admitted illegal surveillance was still taking place"(understand). " the Government’s unverified assertion that it has halted “systemic” illegal/unconstitutional surveillance by the National Security Administration." says David Sirota author of “Does the government actually understand the 4th Amendment?”(Understand). Sirota also states "The NSA is admitting that even with an outdated 1997 supreme court ruling it knows it cannot post mass collect metadata with no warrants whatsoever.
Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) allows the United States government to gather foreign intelligence information concerning persons located outside of the country that are, or are connected to, a potential threat against the nation. In addition to protecting national security, the communications data collected under Section 702 has been used for criminal prosecution in domestic court cases. Since it passed in 2008, scholars have raised questions over the act’s constitutionality, especially about its consistence with the Fourth Amendment which protects both US and non-US persons against unreasonable searches and seizures. These scholars argue that not all communications gathered under Section 702 meet the reasonableness requirement of the Fourth Amendment and should therefore not be used in criminal cases. However, Section 702 mainly conflicts with the Constitution only when the act is used inappropriately by agencies to investigate people residing within the US rather than for its intended purpose of gathering foreign intelligence.
The opposition suggests that the USA Patriot Act grinds down several elements in the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment, the freedom of speech and assembly, is violated because it restricts our speech, albeit, indirectly but it is still restricted. People are losing the right to say what they feel and they have to be careful with their words when discussing politics or the government because they can be prosecuted for saying what they think. The Fourth Amendment, the freedom from unreasonable search and seizure, is violated because the Patriot Act does not require a probable cause or a warrant to search through someone's data and personal information and with the Patriot Act, the victim does not need to be informed this search is happening.
The U.S follows a different school of surveillance. Despite the fundamental right to be held “innocent until proven guilty”, it monitors everyone until proven innocent. The status quo could of course damage America’s long known liberties granted by the Constitution. Recent revelations by whistleblower Edward Snowden, have confirmed that the government is more likely to cross some constitutional lines in the name of national security. “The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) regulates the government’s acquisition of any electronic surveillance within the country for foreign intelligence use.
These statistics not only make you question whether or not the Patriot Act is successfully completing its job, but it makes you wonder whether those suspected of regular crimes were rightfully convicted. Although the Patriot Act has played a
“The Patriot Act broadly undermines the rights of all Americans. It reduces judicial oversight of a host of investigative measures, including wiretaps, expands the government 's ability to track individuals ' Internet use and gives federal officials expansive new powers that are in no way limited to investigating terrorist crimes. ( thenation) It authorizes an end run around the Fourth Amendment by allowing the government to conduct wiretaps and searches in criminal investigations, without probable cause of a crime, as long as the government claims that it also seeks to gather foreign intelligence--an authority that is particularly questionable in light of recent disclosures from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court that the FBI has
The fourth amendment can be beneficial but, it can also to some U.S. citizens be invasion of privacy. The fourth amendment 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,” some U.S. citizens believe that Law Enforcement, the Government and the NSA are violating the required guidelines of the Fourth Amendment. The NSA is conducted a mass U.S. surveillance not to believe specific individuals may be engaging in terrorist activity, but instead to believe all of us may be engaging in such activity. The government mass surveillance proves that U.S. citizens are considered suspects at all times. With the Patriot Act the NSA has access to
Have you ever wondered why the Patriot Act played a big part in history or why it is so important to us? Well the government has compromised our civil liberties through the use of the Patriot Act. They also abused our privacy which wasn’t fair for us. The history of the Patriot Act, the abuse of our rights, and the way everything ended made the Americans feel like they couldn’t trust their government because they felt like they were always being watched. Through the Patriot Act, the law enforcement agencies and the government are given wide optional powers to acquire information not only from suspected people but also from the law-abiding Americans.
The issue here is whether or the NSA should be allowed to surveil and collect data on United State citizens. People who uphold the pro side of this argument believe that the NSA should and has the right to monitor
NSA Surveillance "I can 't in good conscience allow the U.S. government to destroy privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they 're secretly building" (Edward Snowden). The NSA began monitoring and collecting sensitive and personal information from Americans such as their emails, phone calls, photos and other private material. Massive surveillance began in 2001 after the terrorist attack in New York and since then there has been a big peak in government watching. It 's unnecessary for the NSA to monitor American’s private conversations as well as other sensitive data because people should be able to have a sense of privacy in personal communication with others. Government watching is something that the government shouldn’t do because although there are bad people in this world it is irrelevant for them to watch everyone because not everyone is bad and many people disfavors this decision.
Most people have the standpoint that because it doesn’t affect them, they shouldn’t really bother with doing anything about it. However, doesn’t the NSA breach our Fourth Amendment rights? The Fourth Amendment guarantees, "the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated," but doesn’t mass phone data collection violate that? Legally to search someone you need a warrant but the NSA completely bypasses that.
“The NSA is not listening to Americans ' phone calls or monitoring their emails” (Does the Government). As the government states they are permitted to collect any Americans communications The Fourth Amendment protects your privacy, for instance the police cannot search personal properties. Due to the definition of "the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers,” it makes people feel secure (Legal Information). In addition, it prevents all irrelevant searches that are not useful.
The NSA’s surveillance of American citizens caused a debate over whether or not the Fourth Amendment of the constitution was being violated. The NSA, and the Fourth Amendment have been a touchy subject for some American citizens. The NSA, or National Surveillance Agency, is being closely watched by American citizens since a debate has formed as to whether or not the actions of the NSA regarding the surveillance of American
The NSA or the National Security Agency carries out most of the domestic surveillance in the United States. Before the 9/11 attacks the NSA needed approval from a court, but after the attacks, they were given free reign to copy any data that possibly linked to terrorist activities. This led to many arguments over whether this collection of data was unconstitutional or not. The extent of this surveillance shocked many people; many civil rights advocates thought that this surveillance breached United States citizens’ rights. Because of the threat of domestic surveillance in the United States it should be decreased drastically but not entirely stopped.
Recently, Americans have discovered that their phone calls, emails, and personal electronically based private data has been tapped into and recorded by the government without court-issued warrants; this law being