As the PRISM scandal continues to unravel with new pieces of
information being leaked, it is clear that there is a surveillance issue in
America today. We’re led to believe that the prying into the lives of Americans
is all in the name of national security—a noble and just cause. Yet, with
inadequate and possibly negligent oversight by the FISA court, according to The Guardian, who is to say the program
is under control?
Its defenders say that only metadata is being collected
while the implicated Internet companies are denying involvement with sly words
and an ounce of consumer trust.
Regardless of what information the government is collecting
on its citizens, the idea that one’s privacy can so easily be breeched is
haunting. It is warrantless, with no oversight other than a rampant executive
branch. PRISM alone can be quite unsettling; there are other avenues the
government can use to prosecute anyone they want.
Prosecutors have immense power. Look at the case against
Aaron Swartz and the steamrolling prosecutors did. With their ability to go
after anyone for almost anything, they can easily ruin a life.
Have you ever connected to unsecured wi-fi? Used a fake name
online? Let a friend burn a CD? All of those fall under the broad and often
abused Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
One can easily argue a slippery-slope scenario that would
make Orwell proud, but with the government’s ability to abuse its power, even
one person falling victim is a tragedy. Who is not to say that people who speak out in protest against the
governemtn can be more easily silenced? We say, “That cannot happen here!” Yet ever year, with FISA, The PATRIOT
Act, PRISM, and possibly countless other programs and acts our freedoms,
privacy, and liberties are eroding away.
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| Amache Japanese Internment Camp, Colorado |
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