Bryan

Doria
Malcolm Campbell

UWRT 1104

15 February 2016

The Information Age and Privacy

Introduction/overview

I will be doing my project on whether or not national security is more important than an

individuals right to privacy. After the wake of 9/11, The Patriot Act was passed to ensure that such a

catastrophe would not occur again. Revisions and additional bills have been passed since then that have

changed what info can be collected, who it can be collected on, the scope of the collection, etc. In July

of 2013, reports of the magnitude of the data collection were released by The Guardian thanks to an

NSA contractor worker, Edward Snowden. It was shown that the NSA collaborated with giant tech

companies such as Facebook, Google, and Microsoft to easily collect user info without the need of

warrants. They also collected browsing history, raw internet data, and the metadata of phone calls and

emails. Metadata is defined as the, data that describes other data. Or in simpler terms metadata is the

tag placed on data so it can be easily identified such as address, length, data type, IP address.

According to The Guardian, the NSA keeps data for about a year for individuals whose data was

either collected on purpose or accidently in case they become targets of an investigation later on. In a

2013 report released by the NSA they stated that the Internet carries 1,826 Petabytes of information

per day. In its foreign intelligence mission, NSA touches about 1.6% of that. 1.6% might sound like a

little but around 60% of all internet traffic per day is just media (Netflix, YouTube), about 23% is peer-to-

peer traffic, around 12% is just web browsing, and about 3% of daily internet traffic deals with

communications according to Sandvine a Canadian Networking company. So, that 1.6% turns into half

the communication of the internet.



My issue is a complex issue and cant be boiled down to a black and white problem. Proponents

of this issue say that the governments role is to secure the general welfare of its constituents and that

safeguards are put in place to ensure that the data collected is not abused. Most to all western

governments follow the philosophy of the social contract which states that the people give up some

freedoms to gain security, the governments surveillance programs is just an expansion of this idea.

While opponents say that these massive collections programs are a violation of our 4th amendment or

that in the wrong hands this data can be used in malicious ways. The loss of our privacy can be

considered following a slippery slope in the sake of security and could/would lead to a 1984 like future

where Big Brother is always around.

Initial inquiry questions:

1) Why does the government feels it necessary to surveil its citizens?

2) Is it unavoidable?

3) How much should its citizens know about what its doing?

4) Is it worth it?

5) Where do induvial rights begin and security end?

6) Is it feasible that all this data can be processed in a shot amount of time?

7) Do the backdoors implanted in our technology make it easier for criminals to access our data?

My interest in this topic:

My interest in this topic began a few years ago, when Edward snowden leaked documents on what the

NSA was doing. This topic also has a huge impact on my life, my whole day revolves mostly being around

technology, like most people of my age group we are constantly around our phones or computers. From

social media to our conversations, most of it is being recorded. My interest in the topic also stems from

my curiosity of knowing the other side of the issue. Currently my opinion is heavily biased towards no,


but if most governments around the world have followed the path of the united states data collection

there must be a good reason, right?

Next steps

My next steps are to continue to gather info from credible sources since there are a lot of non-credible

sources on this issue. I would like to see if there are any studies on peoples viewing habits after being

informed that they were being watched. I also plan to gather more viewpoints as my own view is heavily

biased in one direction.

Comments:

Personally, I think your topic has an abundant amount of information to argue both sides. I think that

this is going to be very beneficial for you. Like you, I think this is in the mind of a lot of people, especially

with the medias coverage of Snowden. The first thing to jump out at me is the fact that you have a lot

of questions. I think you should narrow down these to one or two specific questions. I agree that the

fact that our generation revolves around technology makes this topic relevant to us. Another concern of

mine is the fact that you already have a general viewpoint already. While I understand that this is

unavoidable, I would recommend trying do to a good amount of research on both sides of the

argument. I think that with enough research you will be able to lessen the amount of bias included.

Overall, I think that this topic is great, relatable and vast. I believe that your final project will come out

well if you can narrow down your questions to one specific interest. Good luck!