University Essay: Arts Advantage - Governmental Surveillance Argument

This argumentative essay examines the contentious issue of governmental surveillance, focusing on the balance between national security and individual rights. The essay argues that the government should have access to private communications, such as emails and texts, to protect the country from terrorist activities and promote overall security. It presents arguments supporting surveillance, emphasizing its role in detecting and preventing criminal activities, while also addressing counter-arguments related to the violation of privacy and freedom of expression. The essay acknowledges potential risks, like the breach of personal information, but ultimately contends that national security outweighs individual privacy concerns under certain circumstances. The essay draws on various scholarly sources to support its claims, and concludes that governmental surveillance is necessary to maintain national integrity and security, even if it requires some limitations on individual freedoms.

Running head: ARTS ADVANTAGE – ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY
ARTS ADVANTAGE – ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ARTS ADVANTAGE – ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY
Introduction
The activity of surveillance refers to the activities that are related to the close observation
of the subjects who might be suspected for being involved in the spying activities or criminal
activities. The surveillance measures that are implemented by the governmental bodies over the
private exchange between the residents of a country has been a debatable issue since long. The
surveillance on one hand helps in the maintenance of the security of the concerned individuals
from the various terrorist activities. On the other hand, the surveillance imposed by the
government might also be viewed as a threat to the fundamental right to the freedom of
expression of the residents of the concerned country. In this essay I will argue that the
government should have access to our mails and texts in order to protect the national security of
the country as well as help promote the security within the country.
Body
Argument
The governmental surveillance over the private emails or texts has become a major
feature in the present-day scenario. The surveillance of the majorly private emails and the texts
in turn leads to the safety and the security of the residents of the country. The surveillance
measures installed within the government does not harm the individuals in any way. The
surveillance within the given country in turn helps in the tracking of the multiple types of
criminal activities that might take place within the organisation. The surveillance activities on the
part of the government also leads to the safety of the residents of the country as well as the
integrity of the country at large. The surveillance of the private messages of the residents result
in the conditions within the country such that the detection of the terrorist activities is easier to

2ARTS ADVANTAGE – ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY
determine. Stoycheff (2016) attempts a discussion on the proper understanding of the various
facets of the surveillance on the private messages and the texts that are exchanged among the
people residing within the territorial boundaries of the concerned country. The article would help
in the understanding of the advantages of the surveillance on the part of the government. Bauman
et al. (2014) deals with the various specificities that are involved within the mass security that is
needed in the matters that are related to the implementations and the security measures with the
mass media circulated throughout the online media.
The government should impose the surveillance in the matters that are related to the
private messages that are exchanged among the residents of the concerned territorial boundaries.
The governmental bodies active all around the globe, state that the surveillance is necessary in
order to keep a check on the terrorist and other harmful activities within the concerned territorial
activities. Petcu (2015) aims to assist in the understanding of the importance of the surveillance
of the messages that are exchanged among the residents of the country. The article further
discusses the fact that the surveillance is necessary in order to keep a check on the terrorist and
other harmful activities within the concerned territorial activities. Abelson et al. (2015) attempts
a discussion on the factors that were studied earlier on the concerned issue. The study reveals
that the present-day scenario requires the intervention of the government in order to implement
the security measures within the concerned country.
Counter-argument
The major counterargument that bears relevance to the issue in discussion is the
maintenance of the privacy of the concerned individual. The privacy of the concerned residents
is breached. The surveillance on the part of the government might be opening vulnerable points

3ARTS ADVANTAGE – ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY
to the concerned miscreants. The leak of the personal information of the concerned person might
also hamper the physical security of the person as well as raise a question on the right to freedom
of the residents of the particular country. Pell and Soghoian (2014) state that the snooping of the
governmental bodies on the private messages that are exchanged among the citizens of the
concerned political territories is unethical. The activity is considered to be a violation of the
fundamental right to the freedom of expression of the person. The snooping also leads to the
violation of the privacy of the residents of the country. In the modern times, the data is stored in
a digital fashion. The snooping further opens the avenues for the possible leak in the confidential
information of the residents of the country.
Refutation of counter-argument
The above-mentioned counter-argument is refutable under certain circumstances. The
conditions wherein the national security needs to be maintained is one among the several
circumstances wherein the governmental surveillance in the private exchange of messages might
be necessary. The surveillance on the part of the government helps in deterring the people with
the criminal mindsets to interfere in the safety and the security of the citizens of the country.
Llyod (2016) however, argues that the surveillance on the part of the government is necessary in
order to maintain the security of the general residents of the country. The surveillance is also
required to deter the miscreants from involving themselves in the terrorist activities. The
conditions of constant monitoring might help in deterring the terrorist mindset.
Conclusion
Thus, from the above discussion, it might be pointed out that the surveillance
implemented by the governmental bodies on the majorly private emails and the texts in turn

4ARTS ADVANTAGE – ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY
helps in the safety and the security of the residents of the country. The surveillance measures
installed within the government does not harm the individuals in any way. The surveillance of
the private messages of the residents result in the conditions within the country such that the
detection of the terrorist activities is easier to determine. However, the surveillance on the part of
the government might hamper the maintenance of the privacy of the concerned individual. The
privacy of the concerned residents is breached. The surveillance on the part of the government
might be opening vulnerable points to the concerned miscreants. The national integrity and the
security, however, is more important than the maintenance of the right to freedom of expression
of the concerned residents within the country under any given circumstances that arise within the
country.

5ARTS ADVANTAGE – ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY
References
Abelson, Harold, Ross Anderson, Steven M. Bellovin, Josh Benaloh, Matt Blaze, Whitfield
Diffie, John Gilmore et al. "Keys under doormats: mandating insecurity by requiring government
access to all data and communications." Journal of Cybersecurity 1, no. 1 (2015): 69-79.
Bauman, Zygmunt, Didier Bigo, Paulo Esteves, Elspeth Guild, Vivienne Jabri, David Lyon, and
Rob BJ Walker. "After Snowden: Rethinking the impact of surveillance." International political
sociology 8, no. 2 (2014): 121-144.
Lloyd, John. "Spooks and sceptics: After a series of worldwide terrorist attacks, the public must
decide what surveillance it is willing to accept." Index on Censorship 45, no. 3 (2016): 36-39.
Pell, Stephanie K., and Christopher Soghoian. "Your secret stingray's no secret anymore: The
vanishing government monopoly over cell phone surveillance and its impact on national security
and consumer privacy." Harv. JL & Tech. 28 (2014): 1.
Petcu, Radu. "Government Surveillance, Neoliberal Citizenship, and Social Identity." Review of
Contemporary Philosophy 14 (2015): 126.
Stoycheff, Elizabeth. "Under surveillance: Examining Facebook’s spiral of silence effects in the
wake of NSA internet monitoring." Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 93, no. 2
(2016): 296-311.