Hackers can steal vital information from computers or cell phones as technology advances. Information such as contact numbers, addresses and credit/debit numbers. What if the government that you believe to be protecting you was doing it? Surveillance by the government is wrong. This violates the rights of ordinary citizens, instills mistrust in government and fails to help in catching terrorists.
The government cannot monitor people without cause. Wiretaps are only legal in criminal investigations if the judge grants a court warrant after a probable cause is presented or there is a suspicion. The government can look through the internet traffic of citizens without any court order, warrant, or in most cases even a suspicion. As a result of this data, in some instances citizens were denied access to their bank account or prevented from boarding a plane. The government may keep this data for years. They can use it as they see fit. The information that someone enters on a website or the internet is not public. It is private. Privacy is violated when the government gathers information about someone. Spying is illegal. The government usually does not have court orders. The information gathered could be used for restricting a citizens access to certain services.
Second, state-sponsored surveillance is not effective in catching terrorists. The Bush administration created a program called Stellarwind. It was an automated system that scoured through online databases in search of patterns associated with terrorist activity. The system then alerted FBI agents, who were to conduct an investigation. The system sent them leads that were so worthless and so frequent, the FBI officers said it was “sending us complete garbage.” Finaly, it is unlikely that a computer would be able to give out the terrorist’s real name. To catch criminals, tracking patterns on the internet is not sufficient. A computer cannot analyze the emotions and patterns of an individual before they commit a terrorist act unless they type in “how to build a bomb large enough to blow up the Boston Marathon”. Real people must collect data with court warrants, and not just a few algorithms.
Surveillance creates distrust for the government. The NSA was created by the US government to protect their citizens against terrorist attacks. It is not always viewed positively. The NSA conjures up images of men in dark glasses and black suits taking their families to a high-security location for questioning. It is never shown that they are the protectors of their country who put themselves in danger every day to defend the country from bombings. Second, if you are constantly being watched by the government in your everyday life, how can one not be concerned about their online activities? The FBI could turn on your Webcam while you were typing up an article. This would make you distrust them. Some people get angry with the government because of this, and they end up becoming targets for the system that they are trying so hard to combat. Finally, people don’t like to be watched. It is a bad idea to think that ‘Big Brother” will listen in on every conversation you have. It can make some people mad and others afraid. It is the citizen’s business what they do in their home.
Conclusion: Surveillance is bad. It violates human rights. It creates distrust for the government. And it has not been proven that it can stop terrorist attacks or catch terrorists. Surveillance will only continue to worsen. The original purpose of technology was to improve the lives of everyone. It should not be used against those who created it. It is important to fear the government because it has the power to watch anyone. The only thing that makes one feel better is the thought “well atleast I have nothing hidden”. Surveillance is meant to protect citizens. All it does is give the government access to personal data and the right to use it however they choose. Before it gets any better, the problem will only worsen. The world must learn to accept it and live with it.
