The Pros And Cons Of The National Security Agency
Noah Young
Mr. Koch
AP Capstone Seminar P. 3
5 February 2016
Individual Research Report
The ethical lens that stems from the question, “Should the National Security Agency (NSA) restore the process of collecting and storing surveillance data in bulk from flagged and targeted cell phones provided by telecommunication companies”, is important because it provides realistic views from society on a controversial topic and shows action plans that people have proposed in order to make it easier to come to a consensus on the issue. The group response to this question is “The National Security Agency should be allowed to restore the process of collecting and storing cell phone surveillance data in order to increase the likelihood of countering global …show more content…
Ethics are “moral principles that govern behavior” (Oxford). The cornerstone of American democracy is offering inherent rights and freedom, but the term privacy must be evaluated. Recently, America has become a country that has drawn much unwanted attention to its government to due reports of the National Security Agency storing information gathered from people’s phones without letting the public know. Before going any further into research, it should be noted that as an American, there is certainly an inherited bias throughout the paper. This problem with the NSA has unearthed many feelings from the public and also politicians who either support or go against the storage of phone records. Since Edward Snowden released hard facts that the NSA was indeed storing phone records, people seem to either have a big problem with the bulk collection, or no problem at all (5). The NSA claims that colleting phone records is necessary in order to protect the world from possible terrorist threats, but civil libertarians say that because the government is not legally required to destroy the information once it has been collected, it is therefore an invasion of privacy (5). It is clear that in order to keep everyone safe, America not only has the right, but also the full responsibility of gathering intelligence in any way possible …show more content…
First, the government should not hide what they are doing from the public. There must be no “hidden agendas” (9) that are kept secret from society. Second, methods that the National Security Administration uses should be proportionate so that the public does not feel as though they are being taken advantage of. In conclusion, people working in the intelligence industry all over America are working hard to keep people safe every day and the least the public can do to honor their hard work is trust that the American government knows how to keep the world safe while within the boundaries of the law
Mr. Koch
AP Capstone Seminar P. 3
5 February 2016
Individual Research Report
The ethical lens that stems from the question, “Should the National Security Agency (NSA) restore the process of collecting and storing surveillance data in bulk from flagged and targeted cell phones provided by telecommunication companies”, is important because it provides realistic views from society on a controversial topic and shows action plans that people have proposed in order to make it easier to come to a consensus on the issue. The group response to this question is “The National Security Agency should be allowed to restore the process of collecting and storing cell phone surveillance data in order to increase the likelihood of countering global …show more content…
Ethics are “moral principles that govern behavior” (Oxford). The cornerstone of American democracy is offering inherent rights and freedom, but the term privacy must be evaluated. Recently, America has become a country that has drawn much unwanted attention to its government to due reports of the National Security Agency storing information gathered from people’s phones without letting the public know. Before going any further into research, it should be noted that as an American, there is certainly an inherited bias throughout the paper. This problem with the NSA has unearthed many feelings from the public and also politicians who either support or go against the storage of phone records. Since Edward Snowden released hard facts that the NSA was indeed storing phone records, people seem to either have a big problem with the bulk collection, or no problem at all (5). The NSA claims that colleting phone records is necessary in order to protect the world from possible terrorist threats, but civil libertarians say that because the government is not legally required to destroy the information once it has been collected, it is therefore an invasion of privacy (5). It is clear that in order to keep everyone safe, America not only has the right, but also the full responsibility of gathering intelligence in any way possible …show more content…
First, the government should not hide what they are doing from the public. There must be no “hidden agendas” (9) that are kept secret from society. Second, methods that the National Security Administration uses should be proportionate so that the public does not feel as though they are being taken advantage of. In conclusion, people working in the intelligence industry all over America are working hard to keep people safe every day and the least the public can do to honor their hard work is trust that the American government knows how to keep the world safe while within the boundaries of the law