The Pros And Cons Of Government Surveillance
According to Sara Schwartz of the Huffington Post, the National Security Agency (NSA) has access to the metadata from all phone calls. This includes the date, time, and location of all calls. The government has access to many public surveillance systems in the pursuance of keeping the peace. Many Americans today disagree with giving the government the privilege to watch them walk down the sidewalk, drive in their cars, and know who they are calling. However, the government uses this right for many important observations. The government should have the ability to use surveillance to maintain order because it will help locate criminals and escaped convicts; it will discover any threats that put our country in danger; and it will assist the government in keeping the American people safe from scammers and hackers.
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First of all, in order to locate criminals and escaped convicts, the government should have access to surveillance.
Using today’s technology, face recognition can help identify suspects and put them behind bars. In her 2013 CNN News article, "After Boston: The Pros and Cons of Surveillance Cameras," Heather Kelly writes, “As the volume and quality of cameras and sensors are ramped up, cities are turning to more advanced face- and object-recognition software to makes sense of the data” (Kelly 1). This kind of advancement in technology can reduce crime rates and make the country a safer place. Kelly also goes on to say, “For example, they could do a search for anyone who entered a 7-Eleven store between 8 and 11 p.m. on a specific night, pull up the times that certain cars have entered and left a parking lot, or ask for images of every person who has entered a certain building over the past year" (1). Cleaning the streets of crime and catching the people who have not fulfilled their sentence can become a reality if we give the government availability to
surveillance. In addition, the government should have access to surveillance footage to discover threats that put our country in danger. Many terrorist organizations are present here in the United States. When they publicly make a threat to our nation, having access to surveillance could solve the potential problem. Rory Carroll of The Guardian, in "NSA Surveillance Needed to Prevent Isis Attack, Claims Former Intelligence Chair," states, "Mass surveillance should be retained because of the prospect of Islamic State attacks within the United States, a key Republican ally of the National Security Agency has claimed" (Carroll 1). Mike Rogers, the former House Intelligence committee chairman, understands that we need to watch inside our nation because many terrorists are within. The threats made by terrorists and groups can be pinpointed, watched, and prepared for with the help of government surveillance. Thirdly, the government needs access to surveillance to keep Americans from being hacked or scammed. Hacking and scamming is a common occurrence in the United States today. Written in an article called “Half of American Adults Hacked This Year” in 2014, Jose Pagilery states, “Hackers have exposed the personal information of 110 million Americans -- roughly half of the nation's adults -- in the last 12 months alone” (Pagilery 1). This crime is constantly occurring, and a change needs to take place. The hacking of bank accounts, personal information, and many others can be avoidable if we give the government access to surveillance.
On the other hand, some may say that any government surveillance should be illegal because it invades privacy and can lead to corruption. In Michael Petry's book, The Codebreaker, the Puppet Master makes it clear that he believes the government is corrupt and uses these privileges to violate one's rights. In The Codebreaker, The Puppet Master says, "'Locker eighteen contains everything you need to know about the dangers of the Y2K Circuit. More importantly, it contains the reason why our government should never be allowed to use it'" (Petry 64). This is understandable because installing a software on every computer does obliterate certain rights of Americans. However, the safety of Americans is much more important than the rights that are infringed upon.
Government access to surveillance is necessary to maintain order; it can provide evidence for prosecuting criminals. The information will also aid the war on terrorism by preventing future disasters. Lastly, it will keep Americans safe from crime and theft. Overall, the U.S. Government possessing surveillance data is key to keeping everyone secure.
First of all, in order to locate criminals and escaped convicts, the government should have access to surveillance.
Using today’s technology, face recognition can help identify suspects and put them behind bars. In her 2013 CNN News article, "After Boston: The Pros and Cons of Surveillance Cameras," Heather Kelly writes, “As the volume and quality of cameras and sensors are ramped up, cities are turning to more advanced face- and object-recognition software to makes sense of the data” (Kelly 1). This kind of advancement in technology can reduce crime rates and make the country a safer place. Kelly also goes on to say, “For example, they could do a search for anyone who entered a 7-Eleven store between 8 and 11 p.m. on a specific night, pull up the times that certain cars have entered and left a parking lot, or ask for images of every person who has entered a certain building over the past year" (1). Cleaning the streets of crime and catching the people who have not fulfilled their sentence can become a reality if we give the government availability to
surveillance. In addition, the government should have access to surveillance footage to discover threats that put our country in danger. Many terrorist organizations are present here in the United States. When they publicly make a threat to our nation, having access to surveillance could solve the potential problem. Rory Carroll of The Guardian, in "NSA Surveillance Needed to Prevent Isis Attack, Claims Former Intelligence Chair," states, "Mass surveillance should be retained because of the prospect of Islamic State attacks within the United States, a key Republican ally of the National Security Agency has claimed" (Carroll 1). Mike Rogers, the former House Intelligence committee chairman, understands that we need to watch inside our nation because many terrorists are within. The threats made by terrorists and groups can be pinpointed, watched, and prepared for with the help of government surveillance. Thirdly, the government needs access to surveillance to keep Americans from being hacked or scammed. Hacking and scamming is a common occurrence in the United States today. Written in an article called “Half of American Adults Hacked This Year” in 2014, Jose Pagilery states, “Hackers have exposed the personal information of 110 million Americans -- roughly half of the nation's adults -- in the last 12 months alone” (Pagilery 1). This crime is constantly occurring, and a change needs to take place. The hacking of bank accounts, personal information, and many others can be avoidable if we give the government access to surveillance.
On the other hand, some may say that any government surveillance should be illegal because it invades privacy and can lead to corruption. In Michael Petry's book, The Codebreaker, the Puppet Master makes it clear that he believes the government is corrupt and uses these privileges to violate one's rights. In The Codebreaker, The Puppet Master says, "'Locker eighteen contains everything you need to know about the dangers of the Y2K Circuit. More importantly, it contains the reason why our government should never be allowed to use it'" (Petry 64). This is understandable because installing a software on every computer does obliterate certain rights of Americans. However, the safety of Americans is much more important than the rights that are infringed upon.
Government access to surveillance is necessary to maintain order; it can provide evidence for prosecuting criminals. The information will also aid the war on terrorism by preventing future disasters. Lastly, it will keep Americans safe from crime and theft. Overall, the U.S. Government possessing surveillance data is key to keeping everyone secure.