FISA Pros And Cons

Document Summary
Document 26 pertains to the NSA procedures that deal with acquisition and archiving of communications of U.S. citizens. It is one of the top-secret documents that was leaked by Snowden and published by The Guardian. The document lists the procedures meant to monitor and track any suspicious, terroristic activities, and events that impose the endangerment of a human’s life under the FISA act. The focus of the surveillance is to specifically monitor any foreign communications between a U.S. citizen and non-citizens. The document lists that all forms of communication regarding a U.S. citizen can be intercepted and archived by the NSA if they have had contact with a non-U.S. citizen whether or not that person is determined as a
citizens without their knowledge as long as they have had conducted any means of communication with a non-U.S. citizen/foreign enmity (Such as businesses, stores, etc.). This detail about the NSA’s actions I think is considerably problematic as the communications that can be stored include any internet communications. With the internet people, can communicate with anyone around the world i.e. non-U.S. citizens via any means as long as it exists on the internet such as social media, games, online-chatrooms. The biggest problem with the NSA actions is that U.S. citizens participating in these communications do not know that their activities are being monitored and reviewed by the NSA and being determined if these communications are acts of terroristic behavior or espionage against the U.S. Though the procedures may seem overly extensive, it is understandable that these actions in an event of terrorism are crucial in the prevention and tracking of guilty parties in regards to a terroristic attack. However, the unknown acquisition of information about a U.S. citizen because of their contact with a foreign person is redundant because of the need to acquire the information even if the persons are not a threat. From my understanding, I think that the NSA actions are excessive and harming themselves and the public as they are acquiring and
citizens without consent after the Snowden leaks. In the memorandum, President Obama explains the needs and reasoning for the acquisition of data as a measure of national security, extending that need to common security with U.S. allies since with the advancement of technology new threats to national security are created such as cyber and telecommunication threats and the U.S, must be equipped to deal with these new threats. In the document, President Obama establishes a Review group as a supplement to the FISA and USA Patriot Act that will determine whether the U.S. should act on a situation, while following appropriate policies, such as public disclosure