Weir 1 Maura Weir 10/4/2011 Professor Lutz Exploratory Essay

Big Brother Watching I became interested in Big Brother is Watching, when the people in my dorm began a debate about it. Half of the floor was in favor of Big Brother watching, and the other half was against it. The term Big Brother is used to refer to any ruler or government that invades the privacy of its citizens. I could not pick a side because I have not done enough research. I thought to myself, what are some of the ways the government watches us? Who does the government keep an eye on? Is the government just watching for our safety? Has the government crossed a line between protecting citizens and invading their privacy? All of these questions made me want to investigate Big Brother watching. The term Big Brother came from George Orwells very popular book, Nineteen Eighty-Nine. In this book Orwell describes a totalitarian society, in which the government had complete control of its people. Police had every right to search your belongings and monitor everything you do. I believe this is where the idea of Big Brother came from. This sparked peoples investigation in our government today. I started my research reading different articles, watching you tube videos, looking for credible sources form my library, and looking at different peoples points of view. The first article I read was called Big Brother Is Watching by Tom Head. Author Tom Head

Weir 2 says, If you think the government is watching your every move, thats crazybut if you think the government is too good or too honest to try it, thats nave. He brought up the fourth amendment in his argument, which states; the U.S. Constitution explicitly protects "the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures." The U.S. Supreme Court has consistently found that surveillance is comparable to a search and that it therefore ordinarily requires the subject's consent or a valid warrant. In his opinion the government sometimes ignores our privacy. As I read on he talked more about privacy, but just what is privacy? Donald Kerr, principal deputy director of National Intelligence Privacy defined privacy as the subjective condition people enjoy when they have power to control information about themselves and when they exercise that power consistent with their interests and values. The fourth amendment states that every American has a right to privacy. As you know, we live in an age of social networking. We live on sites like Facebook, Twiiter, blogs and MySpace. What we post on the Internet is there for anyone to see, including the government. If you post illegal things on the internet, there is a chance that the government will see it. I do not believe that this is the government snooping around. This information is out there and that is some peoples choice. By people posting, tweeting, and uploading pictures to the Internet their privacy in fact is not private at all. People are putting too many private and personal things on the Internet. This is one reason I believe the government is not over stepping their boundaries. People have control of what they are posting on the Internet. Some people argue that the government should not be able to monitor innocent people on the Internet. If they have done nothing wrong then why should they be

Weir 3 watched? They believe that it is not fair to be monitored when they have not committed a crime. Some people think that the government is taking away their privileges. If people post something on the Internet for one person or group or email something to one person or group, then it was only intended for that one person or group to see, not the police or government. As I investigated more topics I found that after September 11, 2001, the government really stepped up their surveillance. In recent years U.S. police have been given greater surveillance powers in response to perceived threats from crime, drugs, and terrorism. Several legal and criminal events have facilitated a reevaluation of the balance between police surveillance authority and civil privacy protection. After 9/11 changes in federal law, court interpretation of privacy safeguards, and technological advances have expanded the circumstances and methods by which the police may engage in surveillance of civil activities. Some people believe that the government has found a positive balance in the surveillance of its citizens. A good example of the boost in security is in airports. It takes a long time to get through the security, but when you are on the plane it makes you feel much safer. Because of the increased security in our airports we have not had another terrorist attack since September 11, 2001. A bad thing that came from the 9/11 terrorist attacks is racial profiling. The police have the right to search anyone who they think seems suspicious. Most of the people they search are innocent people. Because one group of people committed these terrorists attacks, many people of that race are feeling judged. These people believe that it is an invasion of privacy when they are searched.

Weir 4 Another article I read was about the Patriot Act. The Patriot Act gives the government the right to search someones house without a warrant and without permission of the homeowner. This goes against Americans freedom by not giving them the rights that they are suppose to receive from the Fourth Amendment and the Bill of Rights. For some though the Patriot Act can be looked at as a positive step for Americans safety. The Patriot Act lets agencies like the FBI to search suspicious and wanted people by listening to their phone conversations and reading emails and postal letters, without having to wait and obtain a warrant from the court system. This helps U.S. citizens everyday by protecting them from possible terrorists and terrorist attacks that are prevented by the government. One of the videos that I watched that really sparked my interest was about surveillance cameras. Over the past ten years video surveillance has greatly matured. Worldwide the number of cameras is expected to continue to grow exponentially and security budgets for governments, corporations and the private sector are increasing accordingly. This means people will be watched most of the time. There are security cameras in almost every store, shopping mall, banks, schools, gas stations, and even some public restrooms. Some people say this is a violation of peoples privacy. The YouTube video I watched was called Big Brother Is Watching You. This video explained surveillance cameras and how you can use them in court as evidence. The person interviewing the police officer was against Big Brother Watching. He questions our freedom and how much we have these days. He explains that everyone has become a watcher. Were watching events on the news, on the Internet, and we read magazines

Weir 5 about current events or famous people. Everyone is watching everyone (Big Brother is Watching You 3:24). A positive aspect of increased video surveillance is safety. More video surveillance prevents crime from happening. Video surveillance also gives people less fear of being mugged, robbed, or even raped. Having video surveillance makes it easier for law enforcements to catch a suspect. As you can see I found more negative responses for increased surveillance than positive responses. More people believe that cameras everywhere are just for the government and not for our benefit. As I continued on my search I found another article that was on surveillance of cars. If your car has OnStar you can be tracked at all times. The article I read was called Techo Ride in PC Magazine. The article explained how the New Jersey Governor was in a car crash. He had a navigation system in his car. From this navigation system, the court could tell that governor was speeding and where he was going before the crash and exactly where he was when he crashed. This information was used against him in court. While I was reading this article I did not think it was fair that this information was used against him, but then I realized not everyone has to have OnStar. He paid for it and he chose to have it in his car. Overall I have learned more about Big Brother Watching. I feel a lot more informed about the issue. Over the course of my journey I answered all of my unanswered questions. I now know how the government watches us and why they watch us. I agree with some points on both sides, but I am now for Big Brother Watching. I believe it insures safety and provides protection for U.S. citizens. I believe the

Weir 6 governments intentions are to protect its citizens, not to just get people in trouble. I do not think the Government is snooping on people or over stepping boundaries.

Works Cited "Big Brother." Big Brother Government Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2011. <http://bigbrothergovernment.wordpress.com/>.

"Big Brother Is Watching, Listening." CBS News. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2011. <http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/05/15/eveningnews/main509140.shtml>. "Big Brother Is Watching You." Insight on the News 17.27 (2001): 18, 2 . EBSCO Host. Web. 5 Oct. 2011. "Big Brother is Watching Your Email." New African 403 (2002): 24. EBSCO Host. Web. 5 Oct. 2011. 2010. Big Brother Watch. Web. Transcript. 5 Oct. 2011. <http://www.bigbrotherwatch.org.uk/ home/2010/08/internet-privacy-debate.html>. Chen, Thomas M. "in Cyber Space, Big Brothers are Watching You." IEEE Network 24.1 (2010), 2-3. Dority, Barbara. "A Brave New World or Technical Nightmare? Big Brother Is Watching." Humanist 61.3: p9, 5p. PDF file. "Evolution of Video Surveilance: an overview." Machine Vision and Application 19 .5-6 (2008): 279-290, 12. PDF file. "Fourth Amendment Has Been Suspended." Fox News. June-July 2010. YouTube. Web. Transcript. 5 Oct. 2011. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zECjcSQ10&feature=related>.

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" NEWS WATCH: SURVEILLANCE; When Big Brother Is Watching, A Device Watches Back." New York Times (Nov. 2001): n. pag. EBSCO Host. Web. 5 Oct. 2011. Richardson, Michelle. "Is Big Brother Watching?" Vindy. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Oct. 2011. Sharpe, Dylan, and Ollie Olanipekun. Interview. Internet Privacy Debate. Channel 4 News. 19 Aug. 2010. Big Brother Watch. Web. Transcript. 5 Oct. 2011. <http://www.bigbrotherwatch.org.uk/ home/2010/08/internet-privacy-debate.html>.

"Techo Ride." PC Magazine (June-July 2007): n. pag. PDF file. "Why Protecting Privacy Is Difficult." About.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2011. <About.com>.