Privacy Vs. Security

Privacy vs. Security

Edwin Adricula

Privacy vs. Security

It's been found in research that since September 11, 2001, one of the main concerns for government officials, law enforcement agencies, politicians, and citizens of the United States is the safety and prevention from terrorist attacks, foreign and domestic. Living in fear is a state of mind that the people who live in the United States of America is not familiar with and the U.S. government has gone to extreme measures to ensure the prevention of future attacks from happening on U.S. soil. It was for this reason that President George W. Bush signed the bill that put the controversial USA Patriot Act into law. It has been identified that those that are opposed this type of "spying" believe that allowing the government to do these types of investigations will lead to the misuse of authority and the loss of individual rights, specifically the fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. It is feared that this could lead to losing additional rights. However, others are convinced that securing the country and U.S. citizens out-weigh the rights of privacy for any individual, if it can prevent any more lives from being lost. Privacy is not a high priority to any of the victims or surviving family members of the September 11 attacks. So, the question is "should the government be allowed to 'spy' on its citizens to prevent terrorist attacks?" By allowing the government the ability to spy on suspicious individuals, it could prevent future attacks from happening and allow its citizens to live without fear of terrorists.

Research that was performed indicates that the majority of Americans agreed with passing the law. According to Langer, "A new ABCNEWS/Washington Post poll finds that more than two-thirds endorse President Bush's call for a homeland security department" (Langer, 2002, p. 1). Many Americans believed the attacks may have been prevented if the government had collected intelligence as described in the USA Patriot Act prior to 9/11. The attacks of September 11, 2001 sparked many questions about homeland security, the government's ability to obtain foreign intelligence, and "what if" scenarios of the possibility of another strike against the United States. The U.S. government was under scrutiny to make quick decisions in order to prevent more attacks from happening and to give its citizens the feeling of security, they once had. September 11, 2001 is a date that has changed the lives of all Americans and people around the world. On this Tuesday morning, four commercial passenger airlines were hijacked by 19 members of a terrorist group called al-Qaeda. Two of the airlines were flown straight into the Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, another was flown into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and the fourth crashed into a field in Western Pennsylvania (this airline did not reach its destination). There were no survivors on any of the flights and the total deaths of the passenger jets that were flown in the Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania reached 2,975 (Official 9/11 Death Toll Climbs By One, 2009). Research has found that just 45 days after the attacks of 9/11, President George W. Bush signed the USA Patriot Act into law on October 26, 2001. The USA Patriot Act stands for United and Strengthening of America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act. Zagaroli states, "The 242-page document passed the House 357-66 and the Senate 98-1" (Zagaroli, 2003, p. 1).

The Patriot Act allowed more abilities to the federal government, law enforcement, and foreign intelligence gathering agencies. Cohen and Wells stated that the Patriot Act, "was designed to correct five perceived weaknesses, or failures, of the national government to prevent the 9/11 atrocity. It sought: 1) to improve sharing of information between law enforcement and foreign intelligence agencies; 2) to gather antiterrorism intelligence by taking advantage of the flexible warrants' requirement of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA); 3) to expand wiretap authority over electronic communications; 4) to seize funding utilized in terrorist activities; and 5) to impose mandatory detention and deportation of non-U.S. citizens who are suspected of having links to terrorist organizations" (Cohen & Wells, 2004, p. 30). Prior to 9/11 there has been a break in communication between foreign intelligence gathering agencies and local law enforcement and this prevented crucial information from getting to the right agencies. Best stated, "Almost all assessments of the attacks of September 11, 2001, have concluded that U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies had failed to share information that might have provided advance warning of the plot" (Best, 2007, p. 1). The restrictions that were in place were there to protect the citizens from being spied on without probable cause. However, the 9/11 attacks had changed the circumstances and the risks of additional attacks were too high. The lives that were loss from the 9/11 attacks may have been prevented had there been a better intelligence collecting policy in place.

Research has discovered that individuals that oppose this law believe that the Patriot Act is in violation of Amendment IV of the United States Constitution, which reads, "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized" (Constitution, 1787). The debate of civil liberties and the demand to provide national security has been an on-going issue since the Patriot Act was placed into law. There was little time to establish preventive measures after the 9/11 attacks. Lawmakers wanted to put something in place to give the citizens of the United States the feeling of security.

Research has shown that the USA Patriot Act rushed through Congress and was given little or no time for members to thoroughly read through it. Finan stated, "The Patriot Act passed so quickly that few members of Congress knew what was in it. One House member observed ruefully that when his copy of the bill reached his desk shortly before the final vote, it was still warm from the copying machine" (Finan, 2004, p. 1). The Patriot Act is an extended revision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978. FISA was established to watch over the activities of the government's