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What is worse than the proverbial "big brother is watching"? The answer: big brother is watching through big data.
It's no secret that authoritarian regimes monitor their citizens. The usual suspects of China, Russia, and North Korea come into mind leading the charge. But what if the United States, albeit not an authoritarian regime, is added to the list, would that surprise you? What worse is the unsuspected Americans are unknowingly providing the data.
You see, the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution protects the American people from their government against unreasonable searches and seizures. It's a Constitutional right afforded to every citizen. However, that protection has been modified after the 9/11/2001 terrorist attack. A law titled the USA Patriot Act was passed in the name of national defense.
The USA Patriot Act allows the government surveillance on ordinary Americans. This include phone and email communications, banking and credit reports, efforts in terrorism. According to the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union), regular citizens have been turning into suspects for terrorist monitoring.
So yes, the US government has joined the rank of the surveillance states and has been surveilling for over 20+ years. What happened to the presumed innocent until proven guilty?
Do you think the USA Patriot Act protects or violates our civil liberties?
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