The Government Spies on Us through Technology
Team B members: Alicia, Walter, Salea and Jarrod
BCOM/275
09/08/2014
Lynda Sohl
The Government Spies on Us through Technology
Is the government spying on you? The government has long been able to spy on its citizens through the information that they collect from you through your social security number, your tax return and your medical records. They know when and where you’ve worked, what you do for a living and your medical history. The government can spy on us through our computers, emails, webcams, cell phones, bank accounts, businesses, credit reports and the like. If your smart phone knows when you’re near a flower shop, then the same technology could be used by the CIA to track individuals by using the geo location data in your smart phone. If they wanted to find something of interest, they could remotely control, monitor and identify items of interest. According to an article published by Adam Levin, ABC News, NSA grabs data from what’s happening in your home. Inside every electronic products that you own if it can be connected to the internet, it could be used to spy on you. Various appliances can be wired to a network that can track you. Some of those appliances are your TV, cable box, dishwasher, clothes dryer, clock radio, toaster, and remote control, your lights, security alarms, your pacemaker, cell phone and computer.
How worried should you be about your privacy? According to an article published in The Week by Keith Wagstaff, President Barack Obama told Jay Leno that the United States does not have a “domestic spying program” however, sources closer to the government say otherwise. Determining if the NSA is spying on you is difficult but if they wanted to, they certainly have the tools and technology to do so.

Spying on Americans Spying on Americans without our knowledge by our own government is not only unlawful it also immoral and unethical. The United States government has been spying on people all over the globe for years presumably trying to prevent the next big terrorist attack. As technology becomes more advanced and allows people to remain in constant communication with each other through various mediums, it opens the door, or should I say back door, for the government to spy on its own citizens.
I am sure that most would agree that if the government had probable cause to “tap” someone’s calls or spy on their emails that this type of behavior would be acceptable and maybe even legal. If the government showed evidence and showed a warrant just like every other law enforcement type folks, then I am sure this “spying” would seem so ridiculous. However, this is not the case. This activity is being done without going through the proper process.
In an article written and posted by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) states that, “Recently, President Bush acknowledged giving explicit and secret authorization for warrantless electronic eavesdropping and physical searches by the NSA. There is proof that the Pentagon, is also, illegally gathering and sharing private and protected information. The actions of the president, his administration, and these agencies are part of a broad pattern of disregard for the rule of law in the name of national security.” The point made is that the government has not denied, but has actually admitted, doing these things which if you or I were to do we would be thrown in jail.
The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures and requires any warrant to be judicially sanctioned and supported by probable cause (Wikipedia.com). This states very clear that without going through the proper channels, the spying that the government is performing is unconstitutional and unlawful. If we look back at what President Bush admitted to doing we can clearly see that the Forth Amendment was broken,
Whether or not the government’s actions are unlawful, the