Technological developments over the past decades have opened the doors for mass-surveillance by corporations and governments. In 2013, Edward Snowden revelations of secret surveillance programs conducted by the United States’ National Security Agency (NSA) as well as security agencies in countries around the world offered a glimpse into the extent of surveillance today.
On the one hand, surveillance can help prevent terrorist attacks and similar threats. On the other hand, surveillance can be abused for political purposes. For example, the FBI secretly made audio recordings of Martin Luther King’s affairs and attempted to use them to pressure him into committing suicide (Electronic Frontier Foundation, 2014).
What do you think of government surveillance? How might citizens ensure that state surveillance is used to prevent violent attacks, but is not abused for political purposes?
Technological developments over the past decades have opened the doors for mass-surveillance by corporations and governments. In 2013, Edward Snowden revelations of secret surveillance programs conducted by the United States’ National Security Agency (NSA) as well as security agencies in countries around the world offered a glimpse into the extent of surveillance today.
On the one hand, surveillance can help prevent terrorist attacks and similar threats. On the other hand, surveillance can be abused for political purposes. For example, the FBI secretly made audio recordings of Martin Luther King’s affairs and attempted to use them to pressure him into committing suicide (Electronic Frontier Foundation, 2014).
What do you think of government surveillance? How might citizens ensure that state surveillance is used to prevent violent attacks, but is not abused for political purposes?