Of Government Surveillance In George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four

Envision waking up and living in a society that has been fully taken over by an elite group. Not only this, but the citizens are informed that from now their every move will be watched twenty-four seven. Whether it be in your own room, walking around outside, or even on your cellular devices, they are always watching. In Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell, Winston Smith is put in this exact situation. While being constantly watched by the government, also known as the Inner Party, it begins to infuriate him, causing the act of rebellion within him. Winston is constantly being watched by telescreens, where the government can watch his every move and control his inner thoughts. The government having the ability to spy on their citizens all …show more content…
One reason people believe this is because it is necessary in tracing criminals. On The Ethics of Surveillance, Tony Wu states, “if you haven’t done anything wrong, you have nothing to fear” (Wu, “The ethics (or not) of massive government surveillance"). Many different Governments tend to use this argument when people begin to question why they are constantly being watched. If there is nothing to hide, why worry? Another reason why the government needs to spy on their citizens is to reduce the total crime rate, and things such as terrorism. In 2007 a program called PRISM: NSA surveillance program was launched, it allowed the government to intercept emails, texts, phone calls, files and many other things shared from person to person. With having this program, it allowed the government to catch and watch any unusual actions going on. However, allowing the government to watch and know everything in one persons life is not beneficial. This puts everything in not only the governments hands, but also private parties. It gives them the ability to use this information for other purposes, leaving the people at a disadvantage where it could later be used not in there