privacyinvasions

=Invasion of Privacy=

Invasion of privacy is an issue that has become pervasive with the advent of new technologies abound. In today's information age, no one is safe from being unwillingly watched. The issue of surveillance and privacy has been touched in in the guest lecture of this course by Michelle Levesque, but the purpose of this article is to highlight the use of surveillance by major telecommunications corporations. A case study in particular that interests me involves the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) suing AT&T to stop illegal surveillance. The main issue here is that AT&T was teaming up with the National Security Agency (NSA) to wiretap and datamine communications in America (EFF, 2006). The main issue here is that both companies were "spying" on phonecalls to look for suspicious activity (EFF, 2006). Clearly this is a violation of the right to privacy and the random wiretapping has no legitimacy. People should not feel the paranoia of having someone constantly watching over their back. It is wrong and is not an acceptable practice given the rights granted to citizens in both Canada and the United States.

The government has been given access to everything from telephone calls to email conversations that link everyone's identities to the calls and emails (EFF, 2006). The fact that the government has access to such large sums of information truly makes the average citizen reconsider his or her rights in a "free and democratic country." There is quite a bit to be read between the lines with the unscrupulous means that the government and telecommunications corporations use to collect information. This case study is significant because it shows that there is a governing body that is protecting the human rights of people. No longer can corporations sneak around at the government's bidding to secretly collect people's private conversations. The outcome of this case has yet to be seen, but it represents a very significant milestone in the clash of technology and privacy. In the end, the rights of people need to be protected and not used as a toy for the government to tamper with.


 * Reference**

Electronic Frontier Foundation [EFF] (2006). "EFF Sues AT&T to Stop Illegal Surveillance." Accessed 19 Feb. 2006. Available online at: http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2006_01.php#004369

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