Government Surveillance

The government likes to keep tabs on American citizens. They go about this by tapping our phone lines, reading our emails, monitoring what we do online and watching us with their cameras. Government surveillance is an invasion of privacy which is wrong. Privacy is a need to have certain things secluded from the rest of the world. There are some things that people don�t want everybody to know about, especially the government. It�s someone�s right to be left alone. As government continues to invade our privacy, our civil liberties are being violated and vice versa.

The recent event of September 11 has had a major impact on government surveillance. On September 13, 2001 an amendment was passed which expanded federal electronic- surveillance. It was not even discussed for more than an hour. This shows that extreme measures are being taken without the government thinking it through and of course this has a significant impact on Americans. France and Heather Green, Senator Patrick Leahy said in Associated Press Writer

�Do we really show respect for the American people by slapping something together, something that nobody on the floor can explain, and say we are going to change your rights to privacy?� (1)

With an increase of electronic surveillance such as, monitoring our internet actions and tapping our phones lines, the government into out private lives.

The new device that allows the government to monitor our internet actions is called Carnivore. This new device was introduced in 2000 by the FBI. It is similar to a wiretap. This new tool allows the FBI to monitor our e-mails

and instant messages. The government is allowed to see what we do online, who we talk to and what about. Carnivore is supposed to be a weapon against terrorists. But unlike a wiretap, where the police can only listen to a conversation on one phone, Carnivore allows them to monitor everyone who is using the same internet provider as the suspect. This is a big invasion of our privacy. Thousands and thousands of Americans use the internet. The government is being allowed into our personal lives, which is not right. This is a violation to our right of privacy.

In the year of 2002 two new acts were passed. One of them is the Patriot Act. This act has increased surveillance by the government. Some main aspects of it are that it allows the FBI to access sensitive business records without having to show evidence of a crime. Their ability to search secretly has expanded. It also decreased the ruling of if a wiretap is legal or not has. This means that the requirements needed to tap a phone have declined. You don�t really need to justify why you are tapping that phone line. The government can look at our financial and medical records in secret. Also access to student records is easy to get. This act basically gives the agencies a lot more power. The Patriot Act shows how government surveillance is violating American�s privacy.

The other act that was passed in the year of 2002 was the New Homeland Security Act. This act will give the federal government the power to snoop up on every public and private act of every American. A new department was created, Homeland Security department. The New Homeland Security will also have a database which is called �Total Information Awareness�. This new database will be run by the Pentagon. It provides access to business, personal, medical, insurance, all other aspects of Americans lives. They are going to know things from your past up to the present. This new act is really going to help the government keep an eye on us. It is going defiantly violate our right to privacy.

These two new acts are going to stomp on our right of privacy. Attorney General John Ashcroft said

"a victory for liberty, safety and the security of the American people�

regarding the Patriot Act. Liberty means to have freedom. How is keeping an eye on what we do called freedom? These two new acts allow the government to see our personal business. They should not be allowed to have complete access to our records and such. Curt Anderson, John Conyers of Michigan said in Business Week

�Piece by piece, this administration is dismantling the basic rights afforded to every American under the Constitution.� (2)

With the new increase of surveillance, puts citizen�s lives at risk from powerful and large agencies, FBI and CIA. Richard Hunter said

�Bulletproof security for information does not exist anymore.� Pg. XIX.

They have access to a lot of personal and business information. You don�t know what they can do with that kind of information, even if they are the government. Movies have illustrated that the government can not be completely trusted. And many people do believe that movies are factual up to a certain extent. So keeping this in mind, you get to wonder if the government will misuse your personal information.

In Enemy of the State, Will Smith is being chased by the FBI. Throughout the movie you see how the government can easily access information about you. They used his personal business against him. You also see how they have cameras in like every store and main streets. Also they have satellites watching over us. They had pay phones tapped, so they can listen to every call. They were able to get into his house and set up little cameras and they placed a micro chip in his shoes so they can locate him. The technology that exists in the movie does exist in the real world. The satellites that are shown in the movie do exist. But they are not SUPPOSED to be used to watch over us. We are protected by the law. They are meant to spy on other countries. But you never know if they are using them or not. Government surveillance is increasing. This shows how our lives are being put at risk because agencies are gaining more power.

With this invasion of our privacy, this country is becoming less of a democracy. It is becoming more of a totalitarian country. The main reason democracy was established was because the people wanted freedom. They wanted a government that would not try to create a dictatorship or a totalitarian state. With the government watching over us and recording everything that we do, takes away our freedom and invades our privacy. Totalitarianism is an extreme focus on surveillance, which is the direction in which America is heading. The increase of surveillance gives the government more power. More power equals totalitarianism.

How is the FBI or CIA able to do these things? How are they able to tap our phones? Monitor our e-mail and instant messages? Look at our medical records? See our financial transactions? These are probably the questions that are going through your head. John Schwartz of the New York Times said

�Justice Department officials confirmed that the system has been used, in most cases, under the less-restrictive rules.�

The government is basically allowing agencies to perform these surveillances easily. There are not so many restrictions on getting wire taps or warrants, Patriot Act. Alexander Charns said

�Court sanctioned government�s invasion of privacy since agents did not physically touch or take anything.� (19)

This decision by the court is saying that Carnivore is not invading the privacy of Americans. Since the FBI or CIA are not literally touching or taking something from the person, it�s not an invasion of privacy. Federal court ruled that the Justices Department can take full advantage of new surveillance powers to track suspected spies and terrorist. This is encouraging the agencies and police to proceed with these types of surveillance. It is basically saying �GO AHEAD, INVADE THEIR PRIVACY!� They should not be able to do this.

After the attacks on 9/11, Bush, the FBI, the CIA and other law enforcement agencies have been getting blank checks, figuratively. A blank check means that they are allowed to basically do what they want with out checking with the other branches of the government because they have gotten their approval ahead of time. It�s like the actual blank check with a signature already on it, just need to fill in the amount. The system of check and balance is not being practiced as much as before. One branch is becoming more powerful than the others. And it is not being checked by the judicial review. So if the Courts don�t keep them in check, who will voice the people? Who will stop the agencies from stomping all over our rights? Who will let me them know that they are invading our privacy?

Like the Japanese during Pearl Harbor, Muslims are feeling the backlashes of September 11. A certain �type� of people is being discriminated. Police can search someone if they think he/she looks suspicious. This causes problems. We don�t know if all the police would perform such searches based on the right reasons. Some of them might just want to get back at people because of what happened on September 11. So they harass people of the same cultural background. The government is allowing them to perform unreasonable searches, which is going against our civil liberties and our right to privacy.

These new measures that being taken are suppose to help the government with the war against terrorism and protect us. Curt Anderson, Robert F. Turner, associate director of the Center for National Security Law said that

�This will enhance the war against terrorism and should not infringe on the constitutional protection against unreasonable searches and seizures.� (2)

He is referring to the Courts ruling about allowing the Justice Department to take full advantage of surveillance power. He thinks that this decision will benefit the war against terrorism. He also says that it SHOULD NOT infringe on our constitutional protection. But we are already being violated. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACUL) stated in an article by Curt Anderson that the ruling will harm our free speech and due process protections by giving the government greater ability to listen to out conversations, read our email, and search our private property. Our civil liberties are limited. We have minimum privacy. The government is trying to know everything that we do. So how is this not infringing on our constitutional protection?!

Privacy is a right that every citizen has. Also our civil liberties are protected by the constitution. But due to both past and recent events, invasion of our privacy has increased. The government has surveillance on us which is wrong. We should have to be kept an on eye on like little children. Government surveillance is increasing as the years go on. The smaller the cameras get the more they are around. I wouldn�t be surprised if the things that happened in Enemy of the State actually occurred in a few more years. I base this in the fact that government surveillance is becoming more and more. David Lyon said

�The once private home is made public by means of convenient communications system purchased by its residents.� (16)

Works Cited Hunter, Richard. World Without Secrets. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2002

Lyon, David.The Electronic Eye: The Rise of Surveillance Society. Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press, 1994

Charns, Alexander.Cloak and Gavel.Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 1992 Anderson, Curt. �Court Oks Government Surveillance.� Associated Press Writer November 2002, 2 Online Internet

http://www.elibrary.com/s/plus/search.cgi?id=24565260x127y56538w0

Green, France and Heather. �Special Report: Policy and Politics: Commentary: Security vs. Civil Liberties.�Business Week, October 2001, 3 Online Internet

http://www.elibrary.com/s/plus/search.cgi?id=24565260x127y56538w0

Eterno, Jamaica High School, 12/18/02

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