Unwarranted NSA Surveillance

In the current world where information is exchanged freely and people can readily access it, there are bound to be controversies as people are becoming increasingly aware of their right and choose to exercise them. One such controversy that has dominated the media recently is that of National Security Agency (NSA) wireless surveillance of American story. The incident was brought to light by an NSA contractor called Edward Snowden. The Fourth Amendment provides for security from illegal search and seizure. Among the rights this law provides is prior indication by the policing authorities on who is to be interviewed, and about what. The unwarranted surveillance is said to be based on what most consider a wrong interpretation of the Patriot act (2001) and the FISA Amendment Acts.

The contention about the surveillance arises from the fact that the NSA has been mining data on American citizens and storing it in centralized data stores. Two concerns are readily apparent in the circumstances. The first is the infringement of the Fourth Amendment rights provided for by the constitution. Second, the Patriot Act, which is in itself controversial, has been used as a justifiable basis of investigating Americans without warrants, purporting to stop terrorism. The FISA Amendment acts, which was enacted in 2008 and reauthorized in 2012, gives unfettered access to the NSA to develop a far reaching surveillance network that will monitor all foreign correspondence between them and people abroad. The FISA Amendments provide for the acquiring of warrants before the Government can monitor communication in which Americans are party to. However, in 2001, the then President George Bush Jr. authorized the NSA to launch a wiretapping operation without warrants, and this was ratified by congress in 2009. In all, it becomes essential to eliminate such thoughts in order to foster a goodwill between the people and their Government.