Surveillance is the close observation of individual activities and their behavior. With the existence and advancement of technology, it has become easier for surveillance activities to be carried out (Macnish 418). These activities are mostly done without individual awareness, and thus it is a breach of privacy (Parsons 4). Following the realization that was made concerning the government security agencies are carrying out unprecedented surveillance, there was a chilling effect in the members of the public.
The privacy is often considered in terms of the ability to be free from observations or disturbances and also from attention from the public, and it is a fundamental right in the United States (Mitchell 14). Interferences with the privacy of the individuals cause both direct and indirect limit to establishment and sharing of ideas to others in society (Parsons 8). Reports that can be made for example, issues of abuse and violence might actually go unreported due to limitation of the anonymity by the surveillance. This causes more damage to individuals which is not the aim of any society.
The collection of the data that surrounds individual communication (metadata) for example in the phone data can involve the number that was called, the time and also the location where the call was made (Stahl 34). The danger with this is that it allows the surveillance to map networks and activities that individual’s do which in turn makes individuals restrict themselves on what they communicate through the phone to other individuals or groups (Penney 124). The individual restriction that can be done by individuals to avoid consequences from the surveilling agencies can prevent sharing of valuable information and can pose a danger to the person’s life and society.
The awareness of the surveillance resulted in individual reaction which included fear and withdrawal (Sinha 61). It also leads to changes in habits. Recent studies have found that individuals have taken steps to mask their activities on the internet such as clearing of cookies to encrypt their emails and also avoiding observation from individuals, the government and even individuals (Stahl 36). In journalism, surveillance has been noted to result in chilling effects that cause individuals to avoid disclosure of relevant information due to fear of the consequences.
Work cited
Mitchell, David W. "Privacy and government surveillance." (2016).
Macnish, Kevin. "Government Surveillance and Why Defining Privacy Matters in a Post‐Snowden World." Journal of Applied Philosophy 35.2 (2018): 417-432.
Parsons, Christopher. "Beyond privacy: Articulating the broader harms of pervasive mass surveillance." Media and Communication 3.3 (2015): 1-11.
Penney, Jonathon. "Chilling effects and transatlantic privacy." European Law Journal 25.2 (2019): 122-139.
Stahl, Titus. "Indiscriminate mass surveillance and the public sphere." Ethics and Information Technology 18.1 (2016): 33-39.
Sinha, G. Alex. "NSA Surveillance Since 9/11 and the Human Right to Privacy." Loy. L. Rev. 59 (2013): 861.
