Government Surveillance Essay

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Recommended: National security vs. individual privacy

"We live in an age of technology, and with that an age void of privacy. We put our information out onto various social medias, chat with people we meet online, and share pictures and locations on the daily. In recent years especially, there has been a surge in the belief that the government monitors our internet use. Internet surveillance is the monitoring of computer activity and data, seen in the USA on a national level. The fourth amendment of the Constitution clearly states we all have , “the right … to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated … , (1) “ and this statement is put into question when you consider the fact that your search history may …show more content…

In an interview with the New York Times, the N.S.A chief stated that government surveillance has caught many plots against the states, including money being sent to extremist groups and a plan to bomb the New York Stock exchange (2). These events, as well as several other undisclosed situations, were able to be caught due to the watchful eye of the government. As war efforts have grown, so too have technological advancements in the field of intelligence work. Hackers are now able to see exactly what we are typing as we type it, or exactly what we have been searching over long periods of time. Many people, especially on platforms such as Facebook or Twitter believe this information is used against us, even if we are no threat to national security. The fact is however, there are only two concrete types of surveillance used by the government, including a logging system of all domestic phone calls and a collection of emails containing certain contents (2). According to a poll posted in the New York Times, 56 percent of participants said they believed it was acceptable for the government to keep track of our telephone data, due to national security

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