Government Surveillance violates our Bill of Right The Fourth Amendment protects the people from unreasonable searches from the police or any other government official. I agree with Christopher Soghoian, technology can in fact be a civil rights issue due to government surveillance. Invading our civil rights by government officials has been attempted more than once before. The loss of personal privacy can have a psychological impact on citizens and feel that they are controlled by the government. Although invading continues government finds this useful to protect the American people. The government is invading our civil rights because they are monitoring the things we do. The FBI has been monitoring and tapping into the private lives of …show more content…
citizens feel watched. In the article “U.S. Government surveillance and the women’s liberation movement, 1968-1973: A case study” Roberta Salper states “I had underestimated the U.S. government 's interest in my life” (Salper, p. 431). When I get on the internet or even on my phone, I feel the same way Salper does. The government should not be checking who one is talking to or emailing. Throughout the years, the government followed Salper through Pittsburgh and San Diego while she was in the Women’s liberation Movement. The FBI “In 1969, in Pittsburgh, I was considered a "dangerous subversive" (Salper, p. 432). Salper felt as though she was being watched all the time and she did not quite understand why they referred to her as a “dangerous subversive” (Salper, p. 432). These programs that the government uses to “spy” on civilians can interfere with the individual’s rights and liberties. This means that it would not be a democratic movement for the …show more content…
(2013, June 07). What is the NSA 's PRISM program? (FAQ). Retrieved April 19, 2017, from https://www.cnet.com/news/what-is-the-nsas-prism-program-faq/ Franklin, S. M. (2016). Big Brother is watching you: Government Surveillance through cell-site location information and the Fourth Circuits Attempt to stop it. Retrieved April 15, 2017, from http://content.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.dacc-ad.nmsu.edu:2048/ContentServer.asp?T=P&P=AN&K=116681901&S=R&D=ofs&EbscoContent=dGJyMNLr40Sep7Y4v%2BbwOLCmr0%2BeqK5Ssaa4TbaWxWXS&ContentCustomer=dGJyMPGvsk2vqrdLuePfgeyx43zx Mass government surveillance pros and cons: NSA spying. (n.d.). Retrieved April 19, 2017, from https://netivist.org/debate/government-surveillance-pros-and-cons-nsa-spying Salper, R. (n.d.). U.S. Government Surveillance and the Women 's Liberation Movement, 1968-1973: A Case Study. Retrieved April 15, 2017, from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.dacc-ad.nmsu.edu:2048/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=3ae8c666-8837-4c8e-99a9-dcb3e121abc0%40sessionmgr4009&vid=4&hid=4205 Soghoian, C. (2016, June). Retrieved April 19, 2017, from
American’s rights over government protection Are Americans being blindingly controlled by our own government? Today, there is a controversy to whether or not government should be allowed to monitor phone calls, emails, and internet searches for the purpose of investigating terrorist organizations and plans. Although it’s important to remain protected, giving up our rights to our government isn’t an acceptable proposition. Due to our government’s suppressing amount of power and secrecy, it is eccentric for us citizens to allow the government to violate our fourth amendment by breaching our privacy. We have one right that protects us Americans from unreasonable searches and that is the fourth amendment of the United States.
To be frank, the fourth amendment is a security blanket for American citizens; it protects them from illegal searches and seizures. The amendment was one of the first ten, which made up the original bill of rights in the constitution. Many were added to it since then, but the first ten remain extremely important. Without the fourth amendment, America and its citizens could be subject to searches and seizures at any time.
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
Imagine a person takes your phone and starts going through your photos, messages, notes, and emails. People have private information in their cell phones which they don’t want people to look at. Law enforcements today are taking phones and search them without a warrant when they are arrested. The federal government is able to know where you are located just by easily tracking your phone. There are people who think it’s a great idea because police and catch criminals easier.
The FISA and the USA Patriot Act The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and the United and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act (USA Patriot Act) are two actions taken to aid in the efforts against terrorism in the United States. FISA was enacted in 1978 and the U.S. Patriot Act was enacted in 2001 (McAdams III, no date). Both Acts have been and will continue to be critical instruments to combat terrorism. However, the media has exploited these Acts in terms of civil liberties and has demoralized the truth behind them.
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
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.
The truth is that “The US government, with assistance from major telecommunication carriers including AT&T, has engage in massive, illegal dragnet surveillance of the domestic communications and communication records of millions of ordinary Americans” (Rumold). People who have never committed any action that would flag a terrorist plot are having their communication information exposed to the government due to AT&T reporting all of their customer’s phone calls. Users, knowing their conversations are being recorded, have to live in fear because they have to be careful of every word they speak. This fear rejects the people from privacy and freedom because they have to continuously live in fear of their own government. AT&T surveillances user’s actions by “installing a fiber optic splitter at its facility at 611 Folsom Street in San Francisco that makes copies of all emails web browsing and other internet traffic to and from AT&T customers and provides those copies to the NSA”(Rumold).
A few years ago Edward Snowden released powerpoint slides with NSA secrets revealing the Prism program that monitors US communications.
It is very important to use surveillance, but if you use it unjustly it can give more power to public order than individual rights. It causes a similar problem as the ones mentioned before, that it can prove challenging to identify if you had a good reason to use surveillance. You might not always know if you have a good enough reason to use surveillance, but you should exercise your best judgement to decide whether or not to use
Minor feelings of paranoia are common, but severe paranoia can cause significant fear and anxiety and can have a pronounced effect on social functioning” (“Paranoia Symptoms & Signs”). Paranoia not only affects a person’s mental state, but it can also affect that person’s life in general, specifically their interactions with others. Therefore, in conclusion, increased surveillance does not only lead individuals to seem on edge, it can also negatively affect many aspects of a that person’s life. Increased surveillance has definite positive aspects if used in a responsible manner. With increasing technology, justice can take its course upon someone deserving of it; however, as soon as the government abuses their power to monitor citizens, the people have a right to take a stand against
In the united states today the government has so much power than what people may think. They have control over innocent citizens. The kind of power the government has over us has gotten to a limit where now they know where we are at and all of our private information safe on our cell phones. George Orwell’s novel 1984 gives a great example of how the government controls the people. In the novel they tell us about the government from Oceania, and how they control every single second of the citizens’ lives.
In America, a new era of internet access, and therefore restriction, has begun, creating a heated debate between the government and the general population. While government surveillance seems to be a patriotic
With the advancement of surveillance technology, many citizens feel that their privacy rights have been violated due to homeland security and the threat of terrorism. Throughout history our government has implemented domestic and international surveillance as a way to safeguard our society from other countries. Now the question that seems to arise within our society is if the government is infringing on our civil liberties? Or is this indeed protecting our nation from imminent danger?
The use of technology is taking us closer to a world of big brother. One reason that the Government has control over us is because phones which are used for trackers. Another reason there is control censorship and what we see as a public. Some might believe that the Government is not against us they are trying to help us. It is important to remember the Government is always watching us.