One nation, under surveillance
I’m sure most people have at least read or heard of the book “Nineteen Eighty-Four” by George Orwell. In the dystopian novel, the fictional nation of Oceania is defined as an authoritative surveillance state, where privacy and individual thought are extinct.
Orwell wrote this novel as a warning against totalitarianism, mass surveillance and manipulation of thought, truth and language. It can feel like in today’s world, we live in a near replication of that society. Mass surveillance in the United States is not a new problem, it has been around for generations.
Today’s form of mass surveillance no longer requires having someone over your shoulder. Instead, it can include someone behind your screen, listening or recording every action you do. Surveillance CAN be a violation of your Fourth Amendment right. Maybe it is time to let go of calling it a conspiracy theory and declare it a national issue.
In its written form, the Fourth Amendment says, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized” (U.S. Const. amend. IV).
The original reasoning to why this was included in the Constitution was to stop a government from interfering with personal lives. Before the United States ever was an idea, the British government often allowed British officers in the American Colonies to rummage through anywhere they wanted without a warrant. Over the centuries, the amendment has been redefined by courts across the country to have it better adapt to today’s digital age.
Mass surveillance is nothing of a new talking topic or concern. There had always been assumptions and rumors, because of stories and reports from mouth to mouth. In fact, the government has in some way been involved in surveillance on citizens since the founding of our nation. Popular and notable forms of acts that our government has done include opening people’s personal mail, wiretapping, and planting listening devices in homes and buildings. After 9/11, President George W. Bush signed the USA PATRIOT Act, expanding government and law enforcement surveillance and updated laws and statues to better adapt to the digital age.
Civil liberty groups like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) continue to claim that the act has further damaged Fourth Amendment protections and has vastly allowed for more in-depth and unnecessary surveillance on ordinary citizens.
In June 2013, one of the largest bombshells reports regarding national surveillance was dropped. NSA contractor Edward Snowden disclosed thousands of classified documents and accounts about a mass global surveillance system to a group of reporters in Hong Kong, with more documents being delivered to cable stations over the rest of that year. Within days, Snowden had his passport revoked and exiled to Russia where he is living in Moscow as a naturalized citizen to this day. Snowden is one of many contractors, employees, and former officials that have raised the alarm about government surveillance. It is partly because of Snowden’s actions that Americans were made aware that the government has and will conduct surveillance. While his actions were consequential and a risk to national security, his actions also brought concerning revelations that can’t be ignored.
As defined by international law, privacy is a fundamental right given at birth, regardless of identity. Our Constitution guarantees us rights and liberties. Those should and need to be respected one way or another. The question here is not whether security matters, but if it comes at the expense of freedom and privacy. Mass surveillance has deeply eroded the trust between citizens and government. If we really do value security and liberty, then we should demand that the government enacts oversight, and warrants real transparency. A society that watches people will treat said people as suspects, and therefore, no one is truly free.
