Preventive Measures and Privacy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Preventive Measures and Privacy - Research Paper Example The American government under the guise of national security is going too far. There is nothing to hide, as do most Americans, but with that said, the government has overstepped its bounds. There should be boundaries and a balance between individual rights of freedoms and national security. There is amuch concern for the protection of innocent Americans from terrorist. With the government invading its citizen’s privacy, by watching and surveying everything people do, it is one step closer to losing people’s constitutional rights than ever before (Minow 2004). Sending e-mails, purchasing through credit cards, and making phone calls are some of the many things Americans do many times in a day without thinking much about it. Although these activities feel less important and general, they are recorded in many corporate databases. They become part of each individual’s digital history. Most of the databases are accessible by federal counterterrorism agencies which deal with terrorism. The agencies are aware that terrorists use the same financial and communications channels as law-abiding citizens do. The agencies have embarked on using sophisticated computer programs that have the capacity to mine this data. The agencies do so to try and spot patterns that will indicate terrorist-like activities among the many transactions happening every day. The agencies mine citizens’ data without their permission. This raises serious constitutional issues (White 2006). As a result of the exposure of classified surveillance operations, many of the Americans expressed disapproval about the government’s decision of recording phone activities of ordinary Americans. Most of the people showed little concern on their phone calls and Internet activities being monitored. About 57 percent of the people interviewed said that the leaks on the monitoring will not affect the United States in preventing future acts of terrorism