Finding the Balance Between Privacy and Security

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Clearly, the United States is in unfamiliar territory when it comes to combat-

ing counter-terrorism with technology. The founding fathers could not foresee

the technological advances, and the complications that arose from them. Under-

standably, the United States law enforcement is having a rough time reconciling

the constitutional rights a orded to its citizens, while protecting them from a

terrorist threat.

Initially, the government struggled with this balance. What brought these

laws on in the rst place was the lack of balance; security dominated privacy

during the Vietnam War to an unacceptable point. While FISA, in reality, did

not do much, it did set a precedent for later acts. Its wording was built on over

decades, slowly evolving it into something e ective.

As time went on, technology expanded even more. With the creation of the

Internet, and other technological advances, the previous laws were no longer

applicable. People knew this, and the government feared if they did not put

protections in place, the general population would not utilize the Internet, for

fear of being spied on. ECPA was passed, and provided privacy for Americans

on the Internet; people were not to be monitored without cause.

However, law enforcement agencies surveillance technology was not always

compatible with the new technology available to the general public. If the tech-

nologies were not compatible, surveillance could not be conducted, and this was

a huge problem. This brought about the passage of CALEA, which compelled

any telecommunications carrier to ensure their technology was compatible with

the government's surveillance technology. This guaranteed it was possible for

the government to monitor suspects.

Up until the...

... middle of paper ...

...eir atten-

tion on domestic policies. It is then when the majority of citizens will support

the left wing, and demand the laws passed previously, that infringed on their

privacy, be repealed or changed.

Overall, law always has been, and always will be, changing and evolving:

there will never be just one solution to the problem of balancing privacy and

security, but instead a large set of options. As society changes, the laws required

will change as well. No nal solution will ever be found to please everyone

in the struggle between privacy and security. Instead, society must strive for

an acceptable balance, a system where law enforcement agencies can conduct

fruitful surveillance without entirely trampling on privacy rights. If this middle

ground is discovered, maybe both sides will be appeased enough to agree, and

this issue can nally be put to rest.

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