Federal Judge Rules NSA Bulk Phone Record Collection Unconstitutional, Madana Kloss 4th period
In Washington today, a federal judge ruled that the NSA (National Security Agency) was violating the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution when they ran a program that collected mass numbers of US phone records. The judge believes that the possession of these records is an illegal search or seizure under the Fourth Amendment. The Obama Administration and the NSA have justified their actions under the 1979 Smith v. Maryland Supreme Court ruling that stated that a police department was justified in its use of phone records from a robbers telephone, without a warrant, to apprehend the robber. However, federal judge Richard Leon believes this ruling to be outdated, and feels as though the NSA infringed upon the right to privacy.
The NSA has been at the epicenter of controversial American politics ever since ex-employee Edward Snowden leaked countless documents revealing the NSA's true interactions with the American public. Many were shocked and appalled by the possible intrusion in their private affairs. Personal rights protected by the Constitution have been both threatened and protected many times in American history, and have always been at the forefront of American politics. An issue similar to that of the NSA's right now emerged after the Alien & Sedition Acts were passed under John Adams in 1798. While many of the laws included in this act were controversial at the time, the Sedition Act was most relevant to the pressing issue today. The Sedition Act provided for punishment of critical speech against the government. For example, when Republican Matthew Lyons spoke out in the House of Representatives against the Federalist party that controlled the government at the time, he was jailed. Although the Sedition Act focused on restricting free speech, it was an example of government intervention to a right guaranteed to the people by a Constitutional Amendment. I believe that the NSA's actions are closely similar, as they infringe upon the Fourth Amendment and put too much power in the hands of a government organization with seemingly deceitful intentions. However, the NSA does have legitimate reasons to keep watch, as school shootings have multiplied over the last few years, and terrorism is always a possibility.
I without a doubt, think that the NSA has gone way past the point of both legal and constitutional actions. They have no right to have such a large and broad seizure of cell phone files, nor can they justify it. These actions must come to an end. But as much as I want them to stop, it does not just stop with the NSA in this instance because America pays its allies such as Canada to also gather information on the public and the criminal part about this is that they get away with it because the same privacy clauses that restrict agencies such as the NSA (domestically) do not pertain to allies leaving the American government a convenient loop hole. As far as the amount of safety, I do not believe that it is efficient enough to justify invading the privacy of millions. Also, efficient or not, this is an infraction to the 4th amendment making it unconstitutional and in my eyes, not ok.
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