AN EXPLORATION OF PRIVACY

By Nancy Stanley

NEW YORK, Sep 23 — There is a distinction between wants and needs. Taking into consideration the interests of the US government, this line must be clear for the protection of the rights of the American people, but does the US government even have a need to keep some information secret? The answer to this question is yes. 

Just as we have learned from the Snowden story, governments are increasingly vulnerable to outsider threats if/when classified information is leaked; the need for the US government to keep the people safe is a large part of its practice, and the practice of freedom from interference for both citizens and government officials can be greatly compromised with open disclosure. Privacy and disclosure are becoming obsolete in the growing age of technology. But the nature of democracy entails trust - the massive population checks governmental power through its many forms of freedom, whether that be freedom of speech, religion, or association, to name a few. 

The case of Snowden is a demonstration of a practice of freedom of speech, one that took checks on the government and how much they potentially unrightfully keep from its citizens; but how do the people know what is in their best interest if they may not know all that is going on behind the scenes of the government network? In an age of rapid growth of information accessibility, this query becomes even more quizzical. As the Googlezon video explained, everyone contributes in some way to the internet, but this leaves room for credibility to be increasingly be in question. It may appear that the tech revolution is leading to transparency, but even as Walt’s article concluded, an abundance of fake news is now becoming the reality. 

Should the government keep some information secret? This is debatable. But is there a need? Of course. This position does not claim that the government is necessarily a virtuous organization, but it does maintain the fact that the constant questionability of reliable information in the tech world today makes it even more necessary for the US government to keep their facts straight and secure for the safety of the American people, especially in the increasingly accessible tech world, especially when considering things such as terrorism and illegal tampering. After all, information is power.