32 Years After Orwellian “1984”: The Surveillance State and National Security
Social Sciences
Sociology Senior Thesis
Abstract:
This paper examines the recent National Security Agency (NSA) document leak by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden and analyze select programs (i.e. PRISM, Dishfire, and Fairview) to uncover how the agency has maintained social control in the digital era. Programs that are able to mine domestic data freely from the world’s top technology companies (i.e. Facebook, Google, and Verizon) and listen in on private conversation pose a significant threat to the relation of person and government not to mention social stability as a whole. The paper will also examine the recent government document leak The Drone Papers to detail and conceptualize how NSA surveillance programs are used abroad in Afghanistan, Somalia and Yemen. Specifically, this work analyzes how current law is slowly eroding to make room for the ever-increasing surveillance on millions of innocent Americans as well as the changing standard of proof through critical analysis of international law and First and Fourth Amendment Constitutional law. Following a discussion and legal critique of NSA programs, this paper will offer policy recommendations to help mitigate the current issue of mass surveillance.
Key Words: Crime, Standard of Evidence, NSA Surveillance, Extrajudicial Killing, National Security
