Falcon 1

Cesar Falcon

Ms. Alcaraz

English Composition

21 May, 2018

Surveillance: A Method Of Control

Have you ever felt watched? Followed by eyes that were nowhere to be found? There

were about 245 million installed video surveillance cameras globally in 2014. Creating eyes and

ears for any government to glimpse over the life of the people they governed. Surveillance is

defined as close observation, especially of a suspected spy or criminal. Surveillance has been part

of the human history let's talk about the United States and surveillance. Long before the telephone,

the Pacific Telegraph Company reached the West Coast in California in 1862, and the first person

convicted of wiretapping was a stockbroker named D.C. Williams in 1864. He listened in on

corporate telegraph lines and sold the information he overheard to stock traders. The La Follette

Civil Liberties Committee in the United States Senate found wiretap abusive by the corporations

which hired private detectives to spy on labor unions and received any information that would be

beneficial for them. With the Edward Snowden revelations about the NSA (National Security

Agency) actions on the espionage on the public life, a new movement was created to protect

ourselves from the true face of Surveillance. Although surveillance keeps crime very low based on

the various methods that have been created they demonstrate how people are being tracked, their

privacy broken, and the abuse of power over the system.

Surveillance is an immoral practice that helps monitor the public that is pushed by the

governments in most of the countries of the world. The new technology facilities the practice
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according to the author, Maya Wong, she states that “Authorities’ aspirations to enable facial

recognition through upgraded cameras, to calculate citizens’ ‘social credit’ scores based on the

economic and social status and to establish a national DNA database that logs genetic code

irrespective of anyone's’ connection to a crime” (Wong). The article argues about the extensive

push for surveillance in China as well as, the upgrades that are occurring in the country and to

what phenomenon it is pushing. The government is using the people DNA data to keep track of

where they go, what they do, and who they might talk to. This action stops the people from having

liberties to do what they want since it creates fear even for the simple actions. Another factor is that

people are looked down as criminals by keeping a watch on them constantly. In addition, Wong

explains “China’s pervasive internet censorship and its use of countless security cameras in public

spaces are all well known” (Wong). This creates a view of the government foreign views. The

outside population is well aware of some of the practices in the country like the constant video

surveillance in parks, streets, and any place use to make human interactions. The internet

censorships create a closed door for the people in the country which keeps them from knowing

anything that is happening in the world. Finally, China is one of the many examples of how the

governments are over exaggerating in the surveillance system creating a method to keep those who

they govern intimidated.

The United States government surveillance and censorship does not respect the privacy of

individuals. The surveillance is unnecessary and a practice that breaks the rights of the citizens

which were given by the leaders. The article “Big Brother? US Linked to New Wave of

Censorship, Surveillance on Web” by John R. Quian main argument is based on the recent request

that the government has made towards companies like Google, Facebook, and more. These million
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dollar companies contain databases of their users which creates a requirement to obtain. The author

states “70 percent increase in requests from authorities for information about its users, information

which includes private emails and searches data” (Quian). Despite on the companies receiving

orders from the government, the Article Government Surveillance and Academic Though Policing

are Taking Us to 1984 by FFE (Foundation Free Education) creates a statement based on the

message that fear is what creates the ideas to create surveillance. The writer adds “One that is

encourage, if not openly embraced, by fearful people who are”(FFE). The government is enforcing

the policy of surveillance based on what is happening in the world and the public is accepting

them. Lastly, no tranquility has been shown in society because no actual change has been done by

the massive surveillance.

Surveillance can be helpful towards our society but it offers distrust base on the abuse of

the system and the lack of effectiveness. In the first place, surveillance by the use of video cameras

has not been proven effective and not able to stop any incident. According to the article What's

Wrong With Public Video Surveillance? the author explains “But suicide attackers are clearly not

deterred by video cameras can ensure” (ACLU). This demonstrates that cameras just provide a

shape of fame for any criminal rather to keep our communities safe from crime. Cameras do not

create any prevention for a terrorist attack which is one of the main focus for the population in

every country. In addition, the system that is use can be abused by the government, criminals, and

agencies. This creates uncertainties in the communities that are mostly keep under the radar. The

author states “In 1997, for example, a top- ranking police official in Washington, DC was caught

using police database of a gay club / he tried to blackmail patrons who were married” (ACLU).

The author states that officials who are responsible to protect us are able to abuse the data in the
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surveillance database to create more cash. This demonstrate that people can corrupt the system to

use it against others. In another case, the effect it gives on the life of the people based on the limits

and control of the system. The author comments that “There are currently no general, legally

enforceable rules to limit privacy invasions and protect against abuse of CCTV system” (ACLU).

People do not have explicit rights to protect our-self from the system incase of any trouble affecting

us. We are vulnerable towards this continuous practice by the government and other agencies. To

sum up, the mass surveillance programs that countries are implementing cannot be trusted based on

the corruption and effectiveness it lacks.

Given these points surveillance is a powerful and dangerous that demonstrate how people

are being tracked, their privacy broken, and the abuse of power over the system. Our world will

always be in danger by any crime but we need to measure the effects. New laws will have to be

put in place to protect new the privacy of the people. And information be released by the

government to prove right the need of the systems of any surveillance.