Government Surveillance

Imagine you just logged on to your facebook account as you navigate through the recent stories of your closest friends and family members. In area so private in one's life how would you fell if you knew your personal information is being watched? Government surveillance is any process of which a government agency detects, analyzes, and and reviews the acts of an individual. Almost every American citizen can be tracked and put under surveillance due the recent technology changes that allow the government access to personal information. Here's a diagram:

Image courtesy of http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/surveillance/2008/11/11/narus-security-through-surveillance/

The model illustrated above is the most common way the government can observe an individuals patterns and behaviors. User traffic can come from primarily four different avenues the internet, residential homes, businesses, and mobile devices*. This traffic is created when you logon to facebook or make a phone call to your best friend. All of this raw user information goes through black intercepter boxes at your phone or internet provider*. Large amounts of this information is handed to government agencies like the National Security Agency [NSA]. From there the NSA or other government agencies store this large data and if they find suspicious details can go back and investigate ones history*. 

One can see from this video how far the government has taken to keep up surveillance on its own citizens. Edward Snowden considered a traitor by our United States government however is widely praised for his efforts to inform the public on the extent of government surveillance. Every time you get on to facebook or twitter you now know what you post or search could be stored by the governments data of network surveillance. 

The older you get the more you will have to learn how to use these different forms of technology. We go about our business as normal but few realize our personal lives can at any time be tracked down by our government. How does this make you feel to know that someday when you buy your first laptop or iPad anything you do can be reviewed against your knowledge? It was only over the summer the public learned how much the government wants to learn about its own citizens. Before Snowden's leak few knew the extent of our government capabilities but since many Americans feel there every move is tracked and to some extent what we do is. 

The advancement of technology will only tempt the government to adapt its capabilities to watch us. Only a hundred years ago there was no internet, cell phones, or even computers. Hence we have seen through history as technology shifts so does the governments way of surveillance. Modern technology has come a long way and at some point we may even physically see how far the government is willing to go to watch us.

The only way to stop the cycle of  government surveillance is by active participation. A simple way to bring awareness is by educating others on the current crises and explain to them how drastic the situation has become. The next step would be to start a petition to keep those involved in surveillance accountable to their actions. When you grow up and if decide to get married and have kids would you be satisfied knowing you and your family could at any time be spied upon?  

*Narus: Security through Surveillance. (2008). The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. Retrieved on November 24, 2013 from http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/surveillance/2008/11

/11/narus-security-through-surveillance/