Pros And Cons Of Wiretapping

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Recommended: Wiretapping in the united states

Brendan Pataky
Mrs. Neve
English II Honors
29 April 2014
Wiretapping
To what lengths must a government go to protect its citizens from threats such as terrorism? This is a frequently debated and controversial topic. One of these so called measures is wiretapping without notice. The government should not randomly spy on its citizens because it is morally wrong and it violates basic human liberties such as but not limited to privacy.
There is a litany of problems with wiretapping, regardless if it is at a private or governmental level. One is the failure of the algorithms used to filter out potential threats while wiretapping. These can create false positives that incriminate someone who is otherwise innocent. In the ehow article “Cons of Wiretapping” by Tom Lutzenberger, one example is a criminal using someone’s Wi-Fi that is unrestricted to commit various cybercrimes via the internet. Obviously, that scenario could’ve been avoided if a simple password was set on that Wi-Fi. Also, “multiple communications can travel through the same monitoring point” (Cons of Wiretapping, ehow.com). This can lead to non-targets being unintentionally spied on. This shouldn’t be a problem to begin with. All communications should be secure and not vulnerable to prying eyes. It seems as privacy is slowly withering away in this new digital age, with governments spying freely, and everyone’s personal data being up for grabs and easily exploited.
In the case of wiretapping at a governmental level, there is a chance the government in question can misuse this omnipotence and exploit it for personal gain politically. In fact, “By allowing wiretapping, the party in power can spy on their opponents” (theshould.com). Far-fetched as it seems, governments will...

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...wever, terrorism is like software piracy or gun control, and people will eventually find a way to bypass any measures implemented to counteract such crimes. As we speak, devices and operating systems are being developed that block all surveillance from outside sources, so people are already catching on. Even casual home users want these devices just to have some peace of mind online. The second reason for wiretapping according to ehow is to stay on top of a digitalized world and give law enforcement a helping hand. Criminals are making thorough use of new and emerging technologies, why shouldn’t we? This makes sense on paper, but in the end the downsides vastly outnumber the so-called benefits. National security is still important though, don’t get me wrong. The U.S. simply needs to figure out a way to maintain national security without putting so much on the line.

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