Persuasive Essay On Privacy And National Security

"Privacy has been an issue to the masses since the 18th century, when rebellions like the French Revolution and American Revolution began to resist their respective governments and fight for citizen’s rights. Tech companies like Apple and Facebook have policies in place to protect your privacy from marketing websites and potential viruses. Privacy can be a difficult topic to discuss. The line that separates too much and too little is blurred more often than not. But when it comes to national security, I believe the government should have the power and the right to access any citizen’s internet content.

It pains me to say this because I myself put a great deal of trust in my internet provider. I would like to believe that I can search websites

But the world we live in today is too dangerous for us to have the full privacy that we expect. According to The Heritage Foundation there have been “at least 60 Islamist-inspired terrorist plots against the homeland since 9/11.” Of those 60, 49 were considered homegrown terror plots. Terrorist groups such as Al Quaida and ISIS acquire most of their recruits off of online chat rooms and social media. It would be extremely detrimental to the United States if we didn’t monitor these websites at all. So what does that mean for the average law-abiding citizen? Surely they shouldn’t have to give up their privacy because of some terrorist group thousands of miles away making threats against the homeland. Unfortunately, there have been many terrorist attacks that were orchestrated by citizens of the U.S. With events such as the concert shooting in Las Vegas, the nightclub shooting in Orlando and the truck running over pedestrians in New York, we cannot afford to leave any stone unturned. The fifth

It isn’t as extreme as having to ask permission to view a website or giving up your fourth amendment. The government should have the right to, if tipped off from a reliable source or have obtained some form of evidence, be able to look into that person’s private online life. If a person has looked through multiple bomb-making related websites, or has recently been purchasing a multitude of guns and ammunition, authorities should be allowed to begin an investigation on that person and their life. There is a possibility that this power may be abused by the government. To combat the abuse of power, an oversight committee should be able to look through every single one of these investigations into peoples’ lives made by a government official and each one should have a credible reason behind it. In a New York Times article published in the summer of 2013 about terrorist plots, it describes an oversight hearing conducted by the House Intelligence committee. Gen. Keith B. Alexander, the head of the National Security Agency, said that American surveillance had helped prevent “potential terrorist events over 50 times since 9/11,” including at least 10 “homeland-based threats.” He included that a vast majority of the others must remain secret. For someone to think that they can surf the web and not be tracked by anyone is an exercise in futility. The internet is a very public place and