Government Surveillance and Privacy Post 9/11. Law Research Paper

Government Surveillance and Privacy Post 9/11
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Government Surveillance and Privacy Post 9/11
Everyone wants to live in a fair, free, and just world where subtle yet important factors like privacy are respected even by the government. However, in the current society, this is not possible. Since 9/11, the government, through the Patriot Act, has been able to keep an eye on every person. From text messages to personal emails, to all exchanges that happen online, the government has been eavesdropping. Well, this is a violation of people’s privacy, but as it stands, nothing can be done because the government is the same body responsible for making laws. So, often, the government finds ways to bypass the outcry from the public and continue with its surveillance activities. One of the reasons given is that government surveillance helps to combat terrorism, which is a noble reason. There is also the argument that had the government known about the 9/11 attack before it happened, then it would have been easier to avert such disaster. However, this last point is hypothetical and thus cannot be relied upon as a solid argument for government surveillance.
Technological innovations in the past two decades have led to the many developments being seen today. These developments have made it impossible for people to exist outside the electronic spectrum. More people use the internet today for different activities like chatting through social networking sites, making personal appointments, banking activities, shopping, etc. These have been made possible because of the technological innovations happing. The downside of the above is that people generate a lot of data daily. As of 2018, the world was generating 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day. This data varies from shopping habits, text messages, social networking activities, and exchanges, etc. However, this has created an opportunity for the government to harvest data from its people.
Vision – Regardless of the amount of data being generated, people a right to live private lives. No one, not even the government, should interfere with people’s privacy without their consent. So, the world needs to transition into a phase where people are free to be themselves without fearing the eminent presence of Big Brother.
Issue Statement - One thing that people...