Rights vs. Safety

Most people don’t realize that when you are on the phone or you send an email it is automatically stored by the National Security Agency (NSA). The NSA was developed after 9/11 to prevent terrorist and other attacks. Some people have taken issue with the NSA because they feel they are being unjustly violated. As it turns out, a federal judge agrees with them.

According to an article in The Guardian, Federal Judge Richard Leon believes that the collection of America’s metadata goes against the fourth amendment. This amendment states that it is illegal for unreasonable searches and seizures to take place. That being said, the NSA isn’t there just to listen to you and your friend gossip on the phone.

In a 60 Minutes piece last Sunday Keith Alexander, leader of the NSA and US Cyber Command, along with other members of the NSA revealed some of the things the NSA has done to protect the US. One attack they did see coming was called the BIOS Plot. The BIOS Plot was a system (allegedly by China) that could destroy computers. It would get the operating system to turn on the computer and essentially turn it into a brick or a paperweight. An attack like this has to potential to take down the US economy. The NSA was able to stop this catastrophe before it became a national issue.

This issue reminded me of the question we’ve been thinking about in my American Studies class. This question is: When, if ever, and to what degree, should civil liberties be limited during wartime? Although I am not talking about a war, I think this question still applies in this situation with some minor alterations. So my question is: When, if ever, and to what degree, should the NSA be able to compromise some of our rights as Americans in order to protect the US?