Introduction
Government surveillance is a practice that has existed for a long time. Before 9/11, surveillance by the government was ongoing at a scale unknown to ordinary citizens. While the government was allowed to obtain information through the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), it is clear that US citizens were also targeted (Hernandez, 2020).
Pre-9/11 Example of Government Surveillance Violating Civil Liberties
A historical example of government surveillance on citizens was the Watergate scandal, which led to the resignation of President Nixon. The scandal unraveled the CIA’s dealings of spying on US citizens, especially in the 1960s, which violated its charter.
Government Rationale for Surveillance
The government’s rationale for implementing surveillance was based on the need to ensure a way of monitoring national security. The FISA Act ensured that Congress and the judiciary could oversee the government’s surveillance activities (Hernandez, 2020). However, the Act was meant to monitor foreign agents or foreigners suspected of violating the espionage law.
Technology Used
The technology used by the CIA was mainly audio recording of telephone and meeting conversations (Hedrick, 2018). CIA could also use cameras to take clear photographs of documents and transfer them to their agents.
Impact on US Society
The impacts of Watergate are evident in the modern US because citizens are always worried about the possibility of the government utilizing intelligence resources to collect private details from people. The main effect is the vigilance of Congress and the judiciary to ensure the state does not use surveillance to spy on its opponents and citizens (Hedrick, 2018). This is an effect of the untrustworthy character presented by Nixon, which displayed the characteristics of a dishonest president.
Impact on Civil Liberties and National Security
Due to the impacts of Watergate, there has been a crucial concern to improve accountability and trust in public institutions. The political actions of politicians are highly monitored and regulated to ensure they do not replicate similar actions encountered during scandalous events. On national security issues, there is improved surveillance and more oversight over government surveillance (Bromberg et al., 2020). I do not agree with the government’s use of surveillance in the Watergate case because it violated the civil rights of US citizens.
Post-9/11 Example of Government Surveillance Violating Civil Liberties
Context Leading to Surveillance Implementation
A contemporary example is the collection of millions of personal data from calls of US citizens during President Bush’s administration. It happened after the 9/11 attack, which led to the enactment of the Patriot Act. The Act and the surveillance happened after the terrorist attack that occurred on September 11, 2001 (Bromberg et al., 2020).
Legal Framework and Technologies Used
Congress enacted the rule to allow the Federal Investigation Bureau to conduct intelligence investigations (FBI) and enhance national security. FBI uses facial recognition and digital collection system networks to wiretap information (Bromberg et al., 2020).
Impact on US Society
These events have eroded the civil liberties of citizens but helped advance national security. I agree with the use of surveillance by the government because it brings more benefits than harm if used correctly.
Conclusion
In conclusion, government surveillance is an issue of concern for citizens as no one wants to be monitored without their consent. However, the national security issue remains a priority, so the government must be trusted to utilize surveillance appropriately. Intelligence activities must use surveillance to prepare reports and plan to respond to security threats from inside and outside the country. However, it is difficult for citizens to ascertain whether the government collects unnecessary and sensitive personal details.
References
Bromberg, D. E., Charbonneau, É., & Smith, A. (2020). Public support for facial recognition via police body-worn cameras: Findings from a list experiment. Government Information Quarterly, 37(1), 101415. Web.
Hedrick, P. (2018). Civil liberty and national security: The implications of the debate for the United States intelligence community [Senior Honors Theses, Liberty University]
Hernandez, S. (2020). Surveillance technology toward a dystopian Future. [Ph.D. dissertation, Northeastern Illinois University]