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The patriot act protects american civil liberties
Patriot act and civil liberties
Does internet destroy privacy essay
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The recent revolutions of the world have changed how individuals live their lives. With the creation of new and advanced technology every era, individuals begin to trust new ways of communicating and storing our personal life. This has caused the Internet and cellular networks to be the newest information banks that all societies trust to keep their personal information safe. With these sources being accessed by people around the world, spy agencies are now looking at these information banks as sources to access the personal information of millions of individuals. With Internet privacy becoming increasingly questionable, the debate arises “Is it ethical for the government to access our personal viral information?” Since gaining access to this personal information, many individuals are more vulnerable to attacks and have been denied the right to privacy. Opposition claims that this gathering of intelligence is necessary to ensure public security has been . With personal information being a very important and profound issue, the answer of many would be that personal information should remain private and out of the reach of government.
Cyber privacy is becoming increasingly questionable with the emergence of new technologies and the revealing of new government secrets. With the 9 -11 attack in 2001, terrorism and the protection of civilians became a number one priority. The American government went secretly against their own Fisa law by secretly accessing the email and social media accounts of Americans. This law they overlooked prohibited them from accessing the electronic personal information of US civilians without a warrant. Then in 2008, they created the Fisa Amendments Act (FAA), which made much of their devious activity legal...
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... are allowing them to continue executing these programs.
Works Cited
Ball, James, Borger, Julian, and Greenwald, Glenn. “Revealed: How the US and UK spy agencies defeat Internet privacy and security”. The Guardian 6 September 2013. Web. Accessed March 30 2014.
Burnor, Richard, & Raley Yvonne. “Ethical Choices: An introduction to Moral Philosophy with cases”. New York: Oxford University Press. 2011. Print.
Frank Joergensen, Rikke. “Can human rights laws bend mass surveillance”. Internet policy review 27 February 2014. Web. Accessed April 12 2014.
Greenwald, Glenn. “Fisa court oversight: A look inside a secret and empty process”. The Guardian 19 June 2013. Web. Accessed April 12 2014.
"Report: NSA Spying Violated Privacy Rules Or Exceeded Authority Thousands Of Times Since 2008." Canadian Press, The (n.d.): Points of View Reference Center. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
There is considerable utilitarian value in extending privacy rights to the Internet. The fear that communication is being monitored by a third party inevitably leads to inefficiency, because individuals feel a need to find loopholes in the surveillance. For instance, if the public does not feel comfortable with communica...
Glenn Greenwald, a talented and widely read columnist on civil liberties for the Guardian newspaper, failed in his attempt to alarm his readers to the flagrant and widespread violations of American privacy. Although his article was full of facts, documentation, and quotes from top rank officials, the article did not convey any sense of wrong doing or outrage. Rather it was dull, lacked passion and a sense of persuasion. In fact, the only attention grabbing part in the whole article is the title.
Edward Snowden is America’s most recent controversial figure. People can’t decide if he is their hero or traitor. Nevertheless, his leaks on the U.S. government surveillance program, PRISM, demand an explanation. Many American citizens have been enraged by the thought of the government tracing their telecommunication systems. According to factbrowser.com 54% of internet users would rather have more online privacy, even at the risk of security (Facts Tagged with Privacy). They say it is an infringement on their privacy rights of the constitution. However, some of them don’t mind; they believe it will help thwart the acts of terrorists. Both sides make a good point, but the inevitable future is one where the government is adapting as technology is changing. In order for us to continue living in the new digital decade, we must accept the government’s ability to surveil us.
The government definitely overstepped boundaries by spying on average Americans who wish no harm on their country. This includes violating their privacy, and going against acts and amendments. The fourth amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and se...
With the introduction of the internet being a relatively new phenomenon, the act of cyber espionage is not something that has been properly acknowledged by society. The American Government has done a stand up job of keeping its methods in the shadows and away from the eyes of its people since its documented domestic surveillance began on October 4th, 2001; Twenty three days after the Twin Towers fell President George Bush signed an order to begin a secret domestic eavesdropping operation, an operation which was so sensitive that even many of the country's senior national security officials with the...
In early June 2013, Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old former defense contractor who had access to NSA database while working for an intelligence consulting company, leaked classified documents reports that the National Security Agency (NSA) is recording phone calls of millions of Americans along with gathering private data and spying foreign Internet activity. The Washington Post later broke the news disclosed PRISM, a program can collect data on Internet users. The leaked documents publicly stated a vast objection. Many people were shocked by the scale of the programs, even elected representatives were unaware of the surveillance range. A nationwide debate over privacy rights have been sparked. Although supporters claim that the NSA only does its best to protect the United States from terrorists as well as respecting Americans' rights and privacy, many civil rights advocates feel that the government failed to be clear about the limit of the surveillance programs, threatening Americans' civil...
Security versus privacy is becoming a major issue in today’s society. Recently, the National Security Agency has been the victim of scrutiny due to allegations of espionage. Similar claims not only stem from the authority, but also come from the public as well. For example, one is enjoying a night out in a restaurant when a group of teenagers arrives. Before it is noticed, some of the teenagers take photos with a cell phone. The picture encompasses most of the area occupied; therefore, every person in that general area is included in it. A few moments later, one teen uploads that picture to various social media websites to share along with captions stating the current location. Although not a single person gave consent, pictures are being circulated with thousands of strangers in the innumerable realms of the internet. Not only are these pictures all over the web and an invasion of privacy, but people viewing those pictures are able to discover recent whereabouts with the simple click of a button. Due to technology’s rapid advancements, similar acts such as these are becoming nearly inevitable. But, these are the very same advancements that help us live in a free and open society. In order to avoid intrusions yet maintain safety, restrictions should be put upon consumer devices, capabilities of security devices, and government abilities.
The personal connection Americans have with their phones, tablets, and computers; and the rising popularity of online shopping and social websites due to the massive influence the social media has on Americans, it is clear why this generation is called the Information Age, also known as Digital Age. With the Internet being a huge part of our lives, more and more personal data is being made available, because of our ever-increasing dependence and use of the Internet on our phones, tablets, and computers. Some corporations such as Google, Amazon, and Facebook; governments, and other third parties have been tracking our internet use and acquiring data in order to provide personalized services and advertisements for consumers. Many American such as Nicholas Carr who wrote the article “Tracking Is an Assault on Liberty, With Real Dangers,” Anil Dagar who wrote the article “Internet, Economy and Privacy,” and Grace Nasri who wrote the article “Why Consumers are Increasingly Willing to Trade Data for Personalization,” believe that the continuing loss of personal privacy may lead us as a society to devalue the concept of privacy and see privacy as outdated and unimportant. Privacy is dead and corporations, governments, and third parties murdered it for their personal gain not for the interest of the public as they claim. There are more disadvantages than advantages on letting corporations, governments, and third parties track and acquire data to personalized services and advertisements for us.
Citizens feeling protected in their own nation is a crucial factor for the development and advancement of that nation. The United States’ government has been able to provide this service for a small tax and for the most part it is money well spent. Due to events leading up to the terrifying attacks on September 11, 2001 and following these attacks, the Unites States’ government has begun enacting certain laws and regulations that ensure the safety of its citizens. From the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978 to the most recent National Security Agency scandal, the government has attempted and for the most part succeeded in keeping domestic safety under control. Making sure that the balance between obtaining enough intelligence to protect the safety of the nation and the preservation of basic human rights is not extremely skewed, Congress has set forth requisites in FISA which aim to balance the conflicting goals of privacy and security; but the timeline preceding this act has been anything but honorable for the United States government.
Taylor, James Stacey. "In Praise of Big Brother: Why We Should Learn to Stop Worrying and Love Government Surveillance." Public Affairs Quarterly July 2005: 227-246.
The government gives each American citizen a set of unalienable rights that protect them from the government’s power. These rights cannot be broken, yet the government violates the Fourth Amendment daily to find ways to spy on the American public under the guise of protecting against terrorism. In 2007 President Obama said the American administration “acts like violating civil liberties is the way to enhance our securities – it is not.” Americans need to understand that their privacy is worth the fight. The people need to tell their neighbors, their congressmen, and their senators that they will not allow their internet privacy to be violated by needless spying. American citizens deserve the rights given to them and need to fight for the right to keep them by changing privacy laws to include Internet privacy.
Ever since day one, people have been developing and creating all sorts of new methods and machines to help better everyday life in one way or another. Who can forget the invention of the ever-wondrous telephone? And we can’t forget how innovative and life-changing computers have been. However, while all machines have their positive uses, there can also be many negatives depending on how one uses said machines, wiretapping in on phone conversations, using spyware to quietly survey every keystroke and click one makes, and many other methods of unwanted snooping have arisen. As a result, laws have been made to make sure these negative uses are not taken advantage of by anyone. But because of how often technology changes, how can it be known that the laws made so long ago can still uphold proper justice? With the laws that are in place now, it’s a constant struggle to balance security with privacy. Privacy laws should be revised completely in order to create a better happy medium between security and privacy. A common misconception of most is that a happy medium of privacy and security is impossible to achieve. However, as well-said by Daniel Solove, “Protecting privacy doesn’t need to mean scuttling a security measure. Most people concerned about the privacy implications of government surveillance aren’t arguing for no[sic] surveillance and absolute privacy. They’d be fine giving up some privacy as long as appropriate controls, limitations, oversight and accountability mechanisms were in place.”(“5 Myths about Privacy”)
The world erupted in outrage following revelations by Edward Snowden regarding the extent of surveillance perform by the National Security Agency. Privacy becomes one of the hottest topic of 2013 and was chosen by the world’s most popular online dictionary, Dictionary.com, as the Word of the Year. However, the government is not the only one that conduct data gathering and surveillance. Employers often monitor their employees, and businesses collect data on theirs customer. The morality of these practices is a topic that generates heated debate.
However, government agencies, especially in America, continue to lobby for increased surveillance capabilities, particularly as technologies change and move in the direction of social media. Communications surveillance has extended to Internet and digital communications. law enforcement agencies, like the NSA, have required internet providers and telecommunications companies to monitor users’ traffic. Many of these activities are performed under ambiguous legal basis and remain unknown to the general public, although the media’s recent preoccupation with these surveillance and privacy issues is a setting a trending agenda.
A major reason the U.S. needs to increase restrictions on the type and amount of data collected on individuals from the internet is due to the fact that the United States government can track communications and browsing histories of private citizens without warrant or cause. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, ...