Government surveillance Argument Research Paper Essay

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Government surveillance
Given the current technological advancements, people have increased the rate at which they access the internet. Such internet offers plenty of benefits such as communication and a platform for research. Equally, the internet has various disadvantages, some of which can be controlled while others are unavoidable. In an attempt to curb the negative impacts of the internet, governments and other bodies have resulted in the surveillance of all online activities. Government surveillance is carried out by bodies such as the GBI and the NSA. The act of carrying out mass surveillance differ from one nation to another, depending on their judicial laws and regulations. This means that the government can have access to every person's information, no matter how private it is. Some people consider this kind of surveillance as a way of intruding into someone's privacy without their permission and hence rebuke the act. However, the government should have more control over online security since it helps in fighting terrorism, preventing social unrest and crime, controlling the population, and protecting national security.
Fighting terrorism
The government has eased the activity of fighting terrorism through surveillance. The advancements in technology and the availability of easy forms of communication have made it easy for terrorists to carry out attacks in various parts of the world. For instance, social media accounts allow individuals to create anonymous accounts through which they can communicate about anything without revealing their real identity. Such platforms offer terrorists an opportunity to plan and launch attacks in different areas without being noticed. As well, social media platforms are being used in radicalization, an act that threatens worldwide security. Therefore, through government surveillance, it becomes easy to track the parties involved in the radicalization. The bodies responsible for the surveillance have the opportunity to access the suspect's private information without the knowledge of the individual. As a result, investigations are made to ensure that the attack has been prevented. Through technology, government surveillance makes it easy to identify the location of suspected terrorists and employ the necessary intervention measures.” The actions taken by undercover agents to set-up a sting or acquire evidence vary greatly from case to case”. Bodies such as the FBI and NSA can tap a person's phone calls in an attempt to stop an imminent terrorist attack (Houston 13). Given that most terrorists recruit through the various social media networks, then the government can easily track such data to help in thwarting the terrorists' plans. Therefore, this makes government surveillance an important aspect in the current world where communication has been made easy through technology. A terrorist only needs to send a message to confirm an attack, and with a few seconds, the confirmation will have been made. Hence, it is only best to allow governments to carry out mass surveillance to ensure that they thwart the terrorists long before they can finalize with the attack plans.
The best part about mass surveillance in fighting terrorism is that it uses actual evidence to convict the culprits. Hence, it becomes a way of showing the world how important mass surveillance is when it comes to the fight against terrorism. In addition, the convictions serve as an example to other individuals that might be having the intention of planning an attack. Through mass surveillance, it is clear that the internet is no longer a safe medium of communication. Therefore, if an individual had an agenda goes against the values of national security, then they would not talk about it through the internet. Over the last decade, the US government has prevented numerous attacks through mass surveillance. “The FBI cannot legally open investigations into individuals just because they attend a certain mosque”. The fight against terrorism is a global issue, and most governments have penal rules that permit targeted surveillance (Houston 24). Regardless of how much it intrudes on people's privacy, security remains to be the top priority for any nation. The cost of dealing with the aftermath of a terrorist attack is much more than that which could have been used in preventing the attack. Thus, this makes it right for governments to monitor the online activities of its people.
Prevention of social unrest and crime
Targeted government surveillance is essential since it helps in preventing criminal activities and social unrest. Through technological developments, governments in various of the world have adopted smart city technology. The technology aims at gathering information that could help urban planners improve the city environment. However, such has become a way of ensuring that the cities are a safe place. “Surveillance cameras are essential for recording events for security and safety purposes, but observing and analyzing incidents can be a tedious task”. The smart city technology involves the use of surveillance cameras to monitor activities on the streets of the city (Jeong, Young-Sik, and Jong 235). Therefore, this reduces the rates of criminal activities such as theft and murder. The footage from the CCTV cameras can be used as evidence for tracking criminals. Various CCTV footage has been posted on social media platforms and on the news, requesting the public to identify the persons involved. Hence, this is an indication of how important government surveillance has become in the prevention of criminal activities. Once the criminals know that they are being watched, then it would be difficult for them to carry out a crime. In Baltimore and Chicago cities, surveillance cameras helped in the reduction of criminal activities even in areas that were not covered by the cameras. Therefore, they are a cost-effective way of reducing, documenting, and deterring crime. In addition, the surveillance helps in the reduction of drug dealing on the streets. As well, government surveillance should be allowed since it helps in the prevention of social unrest. Such is done by combining the data collected on surveillance cameras and website censoring to unleash social unrest trends. An example is the case of the grid management system of china, which uses the same technology to detect social unrest. If the system detects consecutive unrest in a particular area, then the government sent police to the area or adjust policies to curb the unrest. Through the various surveillance techniques, the Chinese authorities respond to any threats immediately. The surveillance grid allows the government more power to control the local governments. As a result, this makes it difficult for local governments to hide any unrest that might disrupt the normal running of economic activities. Besides, the UK government is working to pass the investigatory power bills, which will provide the government more power to access the target's private information. Such efforts are an indication that government surveillance has been helping to curb social unrest and should, therefore, be allowed. A peaceful nation stands higher chances of growing their economies as compared to those characterized by social unrest. As well, people's identities and banking details can be stolen.” The FBI has been spending a lot of time monitoring chat rooms frequented by children with the hopes of reducing and preventing child abuse and soliciting”. If the government focuses on online security, it becomes difficult for such a crime and other cyber-crimes to happen (Azad, Mir, Kazi, and Syeda 4). Hence, ensuring that social unrest does not prevail ought to be given more consideration than people's privacy.
Controlling the population