Benjamin Franklin once said, “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety” (Franklin). This quote is alive today, as currently many people around the world are giving up their privacy, an essential liberty, in exchange for the promise of security. This practice must come to an end before the world turns into that of 1984 by George Orwell, where everybody and everything is constantly being watched and controlled by the government, in order to provide “security”. Some of the ways in which our world is moving towards this completely open and controlled society are with increased government phone/internet tapping by the NSA and the with the increased presence and power of CCTV cameras.
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The program was secretly started in 2001 in order to increase security after 9/11. When it is running “the NSA obtains full copies of everything that is carried along major domestic fiber optic cable networks” (“NSA Spying”). This was able to be achieved because major telephone and internet providers would allow the NSA to tap their cables, and copy the data (“NSA Spying”). Edward Snowden, a designer of the program turned whistleblower, revealed the specificity of this data collection when he …show more content…
This growing threat to privacy is also comparable to the telescreens in 1984, which contain cameras that watch everybody in Oceania. One study by IHS Markit, an analytics company, found that currently there are 245 million security cameras worldwide, just 40 years after their development (Jenkins). However, many people agree with their prevalence, as they believe that they are necessary for preventing crime. This is untrue. “A 2005 study for the British Home Office... found that cameras did not cut crime or the fear of crime (as had a 2002 study, also for the British government)” (“What’s Wrong With…”). This shows that security cameras are not able to accomplish the job that they are made to do, but while limiting the privacy of normal citizens, revealing the issues with their use (“What’s Wrong With…”). Also, in the UK it is legal for CCTV cameras to give parking tickets and other legal citations, without any human input. Charles Ferrier of No CCTV explained this programs flaws when he said, “We get people saying they parked a car with a disabled badge in the window and they incurred a fine because the camera couldn't see the badge” (Bennet). This further shows how the use of CCTV has become out of control, as people are now receiving punishments and fines, due to mistakes made by a camera that a human would not have. In
The program was secretly started in 2001 in order to increase security after 9/11. When it is running “the NSA obtains full copies of everything that is carried along major domestic fiber optic cable networks” (“NSA Spying”). This was able to be achieved because major telephone and internet providers would allow the NSA to tap their cables, and copy the data (“NSA Spying”). Edward Snowden, a designer of the program turned whistleblower, revealed the specificity of this data collection when he …show more content…
This growing threat to privacy is also comparable to the telescreens in 1984, which contain cameras that watch everybody in Oceania. One study by IHS Markit, an analytics company, found that currently there are 245 million security cameras worldwide, just 40 years after their development (Jenkins). However, many people agree with their prevalence, as they believe that they are necessary for preventing crime. This is untrue. “A 2005 study for the British Home Office... found that cameras did not cut crime or the fear of crime (as had a 2002 study, also for the British government)” (“What’s Wrong With…”). This shows that security cameras are not able to accomplish the job that they are made to do, but while limiting the privacy of normal citizens, revealing the issues with their use (“What’s Wrong With…”). Also, in the UK it is legal for CCTV cameras to give parking tickets and other legal citations, without any human input. Charles Ferrier of No CCTV explained this programs flaws when he said, “We get people saying they parked a car with a disabled badge in the window and they incurred a fine because the camera couldn't see the badge” (Bennet). This further shows how the use of CCTV has become out of control, as people are now receiving punishments and fines, due to mistakes made by a camera that a human would not have. In