Security is Worth a Little Privacy

Al Gore recently shared his viewpoint that the NSA surveillance violates the Constitution.  Gore added, “I quite understand the viewpoint that many have expressed that they are fine with it and they just want to be safe but that is not really the American way” (Johnson).  The United States Intelligence Agencies are prohibited by law from spying on US citizens.  Regarding the right to privacy, the word privacy is not mentioned in the US Constitution.  However, the Supreme Court decisions have established the right to privacy as a basic human right protected by virtue of the ninth amendment, the third, the fourth and the fifth amendments of the constitution.  The technical phrase they use is the Penumbras and what that means is the implied powers of the federal government.  These are grey areas where logic and principal falter.  The Supreme Court has passed this decision that there is a basic right to privacy, even though it is not spelled out in the Constitution.  

Developments in information technology have led to government's increasing use of surveillance and data mining.  The question is not whether or not this surveillance should exist.  Everyone knows it must exist in order for our country to remain safe.  The real question is whether or not the government will continue to have a true handle and control over surveillance taking place.  Will the government be able to do the job without risking the protection of individual's privacy?  Will the government be able to do this within the laws that we already have? 

Criminal organization and terrorist groups can use many of the same surveillance technologies that our government uses.  Terrorist groups can plan and communicate assaults.  Terrorists can hack our networks from the other side of the world.  There is a new type of criminal that uses the digital networks to commit crimes.  Cyberattacks can target our defense system and financial institutions.  The government has to be able to keep up with all of this.  The only way to do it is by having the data surveillance programs in place and being used.  We need to be able to stay ahead of those that are trying to destroy us.  The only way to do this is to forfeit some aspects of privacy in order to gain the most protection and safety from our government.  In this way, the government is doing its job.  We have the basic right to privacy, but not at the risk of interfering with our national security.  We all have to stand together to commit to security, and never allow such a horrible terrorist attack again happen in our nation. 

Balkin, Jack M. "The Constitution in the National Surveillance State." Yale Law School Legal Scholarship Repository. Yale Law School, 1 Jan. 2008. Web. 22 June 2013. <http://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1224&context=fss_papers&sei-redir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fscholar.google.com%2Fscholar_url%3Fhl%3Den%26q%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fdigitalcommons.law.yale.edu%2Fcgi%2Fviewcontent.cgi%253Farticle%253D1224%2526context%253Dfss_papers%26sa%3DX%26scisig%3DAAGBfm3Hmmri_yT2tw2YKSy5ZeUBOw-8iw%26oi%3Dscholarr#search=%22http%3A%2F%2Fdigitalcommons.law.yale.edu%2Fcgi%2Fviewcontent.cgi%3Farticle%3D1224%26context%3Dfss_papers%22>

Johnson, Luke. "Al Gore: NSA Surveillance Violates The Constitution." Huff Post Politics. The Huffington Post, 14 June 2013. Web. 22 June 2013. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/14/al-gore-nsa_n_3443646.html>.

Disagreeing Viewpoint

Ever since 911 and the War on Terror, various groups have been fighting against risking privacy for the sake of national security.  These groups, such as the ACLU and MoveOn.org have made the American citizen aware of the possible violation of Fourth Amendment.  Even with the fight, the federal government continues to pursue surveillance tactics and expansion of data programs. 

Some of the more recent expansions of surveillance are currently being fought against.  The Government is currently collecting personal data from cell phone carriers.  With this information the intelligence agencies gather information of every interaction a person makes.  These detailed investigations can take place without any warrants.  Wouldn’t we prefer to have our conversations reviewed than have our country attacked by terrorists?

Privacy rights defenders suggest that the government doesn’t have the right to information such as airplane flights taken, winnings and losses at casinos, as well as data on the host families of foreign exchange students.  The former analyst of the National Security Agency admitted, “the NSA and FBI have access to virtually every email in the country” (Wyss).  However, in the name of national security, if you don’t have anything to hide, sharing these tidbits of information about your life should not be a problem. 

There are drones that fly around collecting data as we speak.  We don’t know where they are or what they are collecting.  The government is trending more and more invasive collection of surveillance data and is asking for it to become the law.  The anti-data surveillance groups want citizens to act out against these invasive measures.  They do not want people to just sit around doing nothing and allow the government to continue to impose the authority to pry.  The problem for these agencies is that the majority US citizens still remember the 911 attacks and are not willing to allow that kind of terrorism to take place in our country again ever.  Therefore, the people are willing to look the other way when it comes to privacy and allow the government to do what is best for our nation, secure it.

Wyss, James. "The 5 Scariest Expansions of Government Surveillance in 2012." Policymic. Mic Network Inc., 20 Jan. 2013. Web. 21 June 2013. <http://www.policymic.com/articles/21528/the-5-scariest-expansions-of-government-surveillance-in-2012>.

Ethics of Data Surveillance

Surveillance is the observation or monitoring of a person.  It includes visual observation as well as the observation of behavior, speech and actions.  Some examples of surveillance include cameras, wiretaps, GPS tracking and Internet surveillance.  Now, in the technology age, surveillance has become even more intrusive than it was in the past.  Electronics have made it easier for the government to perform surveillance. The USA PATRIOT Act (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism) was legislation passed after the 9/11/2001 attacks on the US. Now, the NSA maintains a database of all calls within US borders and international calls where one party is in the United States.  The citizen does not have the same rights to privacy when it comes to electronic surveillance and that is what is being debated currently.  Why should we care?

Most people don’t break the law and therefore should not have to worry about being targeted.  These citizens will be safer as criminals will be taken care of, and it will not have any impact on the citizen.  The government already has the ability to track where we are most of the time, what we buy, online activities, conversations on the phone and what is in our mail.  Is that ethical?  Should they be able to invade our privacy so much?  If we are okay with the way things are currently, the government easily can expand the surveillance programs of the future.  An example of this was given in a Stanford University project indicating, “Discussion has shifted towards DNA collection. British police are now pushing for the DNA collection of children who "exhibit behavior indicating they may become criminals in later life" (Wu).

How do we ensure the power of national security is not used irresponsibly?  For example, sometimes by nature of the fact that the state is acting to secure us, other acts of wrongdoing are exposed.  Does that mean that it is time to use that information to disclose the wrongdoing?  Typically then there is a “leak” and the information becomes public. 

Right now the US has massive surveillance Internet activity.  The debate is the balance between citizen privacy and ensuring national security.  These are moral debates because we are talking about things that are secret.  The Constitution calls for a system of checks and balances.  The press helps to expose the government.  The system in place now calls for the collection and minimization of data, but only if the suspect poses a reasonable threat or suspicion. 

56% of people say that security is more important than privacy (Wu).  It is something that works to keep us safe.  These people see the risk of immediate danger.  Others may not remember the threat of twelve years ago with 911.  Where is the line between privacy and security?

Wu, Tony, et al. "Ethics." The Ethics (or not) of Massive Government Surveillance. Stanford.edu, n.d. Web. 21 June 2013. <http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~eroberts/cs201/projects/ethics-of-surveillance/legal.html>.

Safety vs. Privacy?

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There are two major issues that are of concern to the American citizen.  They are protecting the United States and upholding the constitutional right of privacy.  The goal of the National Security Agency is to stop those that are planning on doing us harm and every step taken to protect us is imperative.  The surveillance programs that are currently in place are being systematically observed to make sure they are not being abused.  The program is overseen by Congress as well as a court put together for classified programs.  The program involves looking at phone numbers and duration of calls.  It does not include listening to telephone conversations.  Once the telephone numbers are sifted through, if there is an identified potential lead, further investigation has to be approved by federal judges as though it is an investigation. 

President Barack Obama discussed the issue of NSA Surveillance programs and stated, “You can’t have 100% security and 100% privacy without tradeoffs” (Obama Takes Questions on NSA Surveillance).  However what is important is that these surveillance programs help us prevent terrorist attacks.  They are constantly being evaluated and safeguarded.  It is most definitely worth having them in place.  President Obama defended his Administration's vast data-collection efforts saying, “the programs help prevent terrorist attacks and represent only small encroachments of people's privacy” (Obama Takes Questions on NSA Surveillance).  President Obama shared that when his term as President is over, he will be back to a regular citizen status and would feel that his privacy is still being upheld even knowing what he knows about the current surveillance systems.

There have been recent questions about whether or not the use of these surveillance tactics is necessary. FBI Deputy Director Sean Joyce testified before a house committee on surveillance leaks, and detailed terrorist plots prevented by the NSA.  The vast amount of potential plots on United States soil is incredible.  The necessary use of data surveillance cannot be undermined.  The few leaks that have taken place are nothing compared to what could have happened had those plots not been foiled.  American lives have been saved over and over again, and many of us don’t even know it.  Our country is doing everything possible to protect us, and the small price of a little privacy is 100% worth it.

http://live.wsj.com/video/obama-takes-questions-on-nsa-surveillance-program/BD300672-8E68-432B-B61A-097598B6713B.html?mod=WSJ_article_outbrain&obref=obnetwork#!BD300672-8E68-432B-B61A-097598B6713B

http://live.wsj.com/video/fbi-nsa-prevented-nyc-bomb-plots/BF2027CF-4430-4855-8860-463EA14D989C.html?mod=WSJ_article_outbrain&obref=obnetwork#!BF2027CF-4430-4855-8860-463EA14D989C

Obama Takes Questions on NSA Surveillance Program. live.wsj.com. The Wall Street
     Journal, 7 June 2013. Web. 19 June 2013. <http://live.wsj.com/video/
     obama-takes-questions-on-nsa-surveillance-program/
     BD300672-8E68-432B-B61A-097598B6713B.html?mod=WSJ_article_outbrain&obref=obnetwor
     k#!BD300672-8E68-432B-B61A-097598B6713B>.

FBI NSA Prevented NYC Bomb Plots. live.wsj.com. The Wall Street Journal, 18 June 2013. Web. 19 June 2013. <http://live.wsj.com/video/fbi-nsa-prevented-nyc-bomb-plots/BF2027CF-4430-4855-8860-463EA14D989C.html?mod=WSJ_article_outbrain&obref=obnetwork#!BF2027CF-4430-4855-8860-463EA14D989C>.

Topic: In Support of US Spying Defense

US Spying Defense, including data surveillance programs, is invaluable to our country.  It protects American citizens each day from terrorist attacks and provides necessary information to our country’s security.   As Siobhan Gorman reports for The Wall Street Journal, “Security Chief Says Surveillance Foiled More than 50 Plots” (Gorman and Hughes).  In other words, there have been at least 50 plots against America that have been stopped due to top of the line data surveillance programs.  The fact that these foiled attacks have even occurred is shocking, but the question of whether or not these programs should be maintained is even more shocking. 

           

            Looking back at history, the innovation of using spies and the idea of espionage during the Cold War and World War II greatly affected the safety and privacy of civilians, the outcome of these two wars, and had an influence on other countries.

Spies have been around forever, even in little things such as eavesdropping on people in the next room could be considered spying. The first record of spying was from 1800 BC, clay tablet from Hammurabi, and the first manual on spy tactics was written over 2,000 years ago.

Flash forward to the 21st century.  Spying is still apparent in society today. However, it has changed since the Cold War and World War II. Today, it is shown through terrorism and the internet. The more connected terrorists are with other countries around the world the more empowered they are. Over the years, there have been many examples of how major government situations with terrorists happened through the internet. For example, one called Titan Rain involved Chinese hackers accessing classified materials at Lockheed Martin Corporation and NASA. Another, now called Moonlight Maze, refers to when data was stolen from the computers of the United States department of Defense, Department of Energy, weapons laboratories, and NASA. These two examples show that spies have the ability to access nearly anything through the internet, and if this information enters the wrong hands, it can cause a major government issue. More violent forms of terrorism, such as 911, are changing society even more. They have reshaped many aspects of our government, such as the security of the country. As said by the CIA director James Woolsey about terrorism and Soviet Union demise in 1991, “We have slain a large dragon, but we now live in a jungle filled with bewildering varieties of poisonous snakes. And in many ways, the dragon was easier to keep track of”(Sixteenth DCI, R. James). Woolsey was saying that previously we were being attacked by just one main source of terrorism, the Soviet Union, but now the threat of terrorism comes from multiple countries and groups of people, and this is much worse.

Currently, the use of data surveillance is something the United States can’t live without.  As the threats to the United States have grown into more complicated scenarios, the US spies and security agencies must keep up with current technological advances.  Without the use of surveillance programs, our county will be under constant terrorist attacks and we won’t be able to keep up with the terrorists who are out to destroy us.

 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324520904578553302776398828.html

Gorman, Siobhan, and Siobhan Hughes. "Officials Amp Up Spying Defense." The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, Inc., 18 June 2013. Web. 18 June 2013. <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324520904578553302776398828.html>.

"Sixteenth DCI, R. James Woolsey R. James Woolsey: Uncompromising Defender." Central Intelligence Agency. CIA, 27 June 2008. Web. 19 June 2013. <https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/directors-of-central-intelligence-as-leaders-of-the-u-s-intelligence-community/chapter_12.htm>.

Delaney's Blog

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