Domestic Surveillance Pros And Cons

The aftereffects of the September 11, 2001 attacks led to Congress passing sweeping legislation to improve the United States’ counterterrorism efforts. An example of a policy passed was Domestic Surveillance, which is the act of the government spying on citizens. This is an important issue because many people believe that Domestic Surveillance is unconstitutional and an invasion of privacy, while others believe that the government should do whatever is possible in order to keep the citizens safe. One act of Domestic Surveillance, the tracking of our phone calls, is constitutional because it helps fight terrorism, warns us against potential threats, and gives US citizens a feeling of security. To begin, the tracking of our phone calls is constitutional

According to a recent article by Scott Shane, “The U.S. is pushing to make sure that cyber programs comply with international law and international standards.” This quote shows that the government wants to make sure that cyber programs protect the citizens to the same degree as other international laws. The government wants cyber programs to have the same standards as international law and international standards to give citizens the sense of security that they are being protected. According to a recent article by David Francis “...Congress retroactively immunized the nation’s telecom giants for their participation in the illegal Bush spying programs, Klein’s claims (by design) were prevented from being adjudicated in court.” This quote means that telecom giants such as Verizon and AT&T participated in Domestic Surveillance in order to help protect citizens. Telecom giants play a role in giving US citizens a sense of security by helping the National Security Agency. Others may believe that the tracking of our phone calls does not give US citizens a sense of security; however, according to a recent article by Marshall Honorof, “Counterterrorism is not the only function of the NSA's widespread surveillance. Although it cannot report exact numbers, Lewis theorizes that the data-mining has allowed the NSA to put a stop to a number of international espionage plots.”

Domestic Surveillance helped combat terrorism as it had stopped attacks in the United States and overseas, and identified phone numbers that could be connected to terrorism. The way that Domestic Surveillance alerted us about potential threats is that AT&T and the NSA worked together to collect and analyze Internet and cell phone data. US citizens gained a sense of security as cyber programs began to have the same standards as international laws and standards, and telecom giants such as Verizon assist the NSA by sending them data. If we do not keep Domestic Surveillance, we are making ourselves vulnerable to more attacks as the government will not be able to foil plots that could be harmful to society. Although there is controversy surrounding Domestic Surveillance, it is best to know that there are more benefits than downsides to