George Orwell's 1984: The National Security Agency

“Privacy, he said, was a very valuable thing. Everyone wanted a place where they could be alone occasionally” (Orwell 114). Indeed, privacy shouldn’t be taken for granted, but it is almost becoming a thing of the past as seen in George Orwell’s 1984. The protagonist, Winston Smith, lives in a society where the totalitarian government controls all aspects of life. Telescreens, which are ubiquitous in Oceania and sometimes hidden, are used to monitor every member’s thoughts and actions in order to maintain uniformity, control, and power. A similar method of electronic surveillance is used in the United States today. The National Security Agency, otherwise known as the NSA, is a security organization from the US government that aims to protect
This type of information is accessed through high-tech tracking software and some cell phone carriers. According to a security guard from Clackamas High School, the data in cell phone applications like iCloud, Snapchat, and Instagram can be easily accessed by cell phone carriers or the NSA in order to conduct investigations. One’s conversations and pictures on social media accounts say a lot about one’s self and any plotting schemes or reasons for committing a crime (Figert). The government can easily obtain information from these applications. The NSA uses this procedure to obtain evidence of an individual. Cell phone surveillance is mainly used to gain a better understanding about criminals and their motives. As one author puts it, the main advantage of spying on cell phones is “the ability of police officers to carry out undercover surveillance of suspected major criminals… They are using it sparingly to further legitimate investigations” (Wheeler). Secret cell phone surveillance is helpful in tracking down criminals and collecting information for investigative purposes only. In 1984, the government, known as the Party, uses a different form of electronic surveillance but for a similar purpose. The telescreens throughout Oceania are used to monitor the inner thoughts and actions of each member. The Thought Police “watched everybody all the time. But at any rate they could plug in your wire whenever they wanted to… every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized” (Orwell 6-7). These telescreens serve to monitor any suspicious or unlawful behavior and thoughts of members so that no rebellion or dissent will occur. Oceania’s telescreen surveillance is far more intrusive compared to cell phone surveillance of today, but they both are utilized to monitor the