One of the most valued things in
our society today is our privacy. We do
not want anyone sneaking their way into our personal business regardless of
their intention. Personally I do not
want anyone listening to my cell phone conversations or reading any of my
emails or texts at all. I like having
some privacy in my life because not everyone needs to know everything about me.
http://www.flypaperblog.com/2008/12/14/the-best-cell-phone-service-of-2008-is/
In 2001 the US Government
released the Patriot Act which had a lot of regulations and claimed to “deter
and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world,” (http://www.fincen.gov/statutes_regs/patriot/index.html). This act was extremely controversial because
it gave the government the right to wiretap anyone that they wanted to. In fact, the National Security Agency was
doing just that up until 2005 illegally!
After this was revealed and judges reviewed the case, the government needs to
receive a wiretap order to be allowed to listen/read in on anything they want
to (https://ssd.eff.org/book/export/html/25). The question with this act was who is the
government allowed to secretly receive a wiretap order?
Although the government uses these
wiretapping techniques for “the greater good” to stop terrorist attacks, many
are nervous about whether or not the government may abuse this power. It has been said that the government’s
ability to acquire a wiretapping order has been granted more easily than ever
with the Patriot Act which may be true but how easy is it?
In order for the government to
tap into someone’s wires, they must state the reasons for tapping, the place
they are tapping, what kind of communication they are tapping, the identity of
the person possibly committing the crime, the period of time they will be tapping, and a
few other statements. Sounds simple
right? (https://ssd.eff.org/book/export/html/25)
Actually it is pretty
difficult. The government has to give
reasons why other investigations have failed and it has to come to the point of
wiretapping. Also many judges may not
grant an order to wiretap the person in question. Overall wiretapping is much more difficult
than the general public seems to think because it is currently strictly
regulated but that is not to say that anyone, including the government, will
not use it illegally.
Starting in 2001 the National
Security Agency was illegally wiretapping people in order to stop terrorist
attacks and plots. When the agency was
caught in 2005, some new regulations were created so that it would not be as
easy for the government to listen in on anything they wanted to. Similarly, GPS systems are sold so that
people can track an elderly relative or keep a watch on someone’s speed on the
highway but in reality, jealous spouses are
putting them on cars to follow suspicious activity while the other person does
not even know. Wiretapping, along with
any other technological power, has many pros and cons but do the pros outweigh
the cons?
As of right now, it seems like the pros are outweighing the cons considering there has not been
another big successful terrorist attack in the United States since the Patriot
Act was activated. Who knows what the
future will bring, hopefully the government can contain their urge to wiretap
illegally and use the act to keep us safe in a legal and efficient matter.
