Is Citizen Privacy More Important Than National Security

Citizen Privacy More Important Than National Security Citizen privacy is a fundamental right as stipulated in the Bill of Rights. The Fourth Amendment of the U.S Constitution defines the Right to Privacy as "the right not to have (a) their person, home or property searched; (b) their possessions seized; (c) information relating to their family or private affairs unnecessarily required or revealed, or (d) the privacy of their communications infringed." This right's implications are essential for ensuring the privacy and autonomy of people, their homes, properties, possessions, communication, and information. Despite the importance of national security and all citizens' safety, privacy affects nearly all aspects of a person's life, way beyond the impacts of security. Therefore, citizen privacy is more important than national security.

Privacy helps citizens achieve autonomy and personal security. Information is power, and both public and private sectors seek data as the basis for proper decision making and service provision. Sharing personal information helps people relate with each other, conduct business, learn, and engage in social activities. Simultaneously, criminal activities against people are planned and organized through information the perpetrators gather legally or illegally. Confidential information can act as collateral to force a citizen into engaging in criminal activities such as stealing and committing murder.

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CITIZEN PRIVACY VS NATIONAL SECURITY2 Similarly, private information is often a useful tool for the government and private sectors to gain more power and dominate us. Therefore, citizen privacy is essential for protecting people from possible criminal threats and achieving autonomy in their lives.

Citizen privacy is beyond national security as it guides people to avoid carelessness involving giving out information. Digitization in all the aspects of our daily lives makes it easier for the government and corporations to mine our personal data as citizens. We sign up for company newsletters and key in our data on their websites without suspecting a foul play. As more of our data is given to the internet, we become easier to spy on by the government and other companies interested in selling personal data. Agreeing to an organization's terms and conditions without going through them sells us out to their spy networks every time we access their services. Government agencies and companies have ways of making us comply with them to get services, our rights as citizens. For instance, the John Hancock Company announced that they would give health insurance discounts to customers who meet certain requirements based on their Fitbit data (Weber,2015). Such kind of policies ties citizens into giving up their rights in exchange for national security. It is appropriate to note that this argument supports the fact that citizen privacy is beyond national security.

Citizen privacy minimizes the overvaluation of the risk of terrorism. Panic attacks lead to the passing of invasive surveillance laws, mostly after terror attacks. After the September 11 terrorist attacks on the united states' citizens, the Patriot Act was passed by the lawmakers. It is enduring such tough times that people rally together and become subjects to manipulation by the government. Terrorist attacks give birth to the availability heuristic, which makes people consider somethings more dangerous than others. Perhaps this is why people are naturally afraid of terror attacks than cancer. Americans are over 6500 times more likely to die from cancer (Solove,2015). Exaggeration of these risks makes the government pass bills that take away our freedom at national security expense. Getting to understand and

CITIZEN PRIVACY VS NATIONAL SECURITY3 realize that these conditions strip us of our freedom and rights will, therefore, lead us into considering our privacy more than we usually do.

Citizen privacy reduces the philosophical foundations of the government on the citizens.

Philosophical fundamentals lead to limitations in civil liberties and the right to privacy in an attempt to defend a liberal democratic nation. According to the great John Locke, as the spiritual father of the modern liberal democracies, all people were born with God-given rights, including liberty. The government's sole purpose is to protect these rights (Mather,2015). It doesn’t make sense that the government tries all it can to ensure every citizen's security but forgets to respect the rights and freedom of the same citizens to privacy.

Therefore, attacking our liberty and our privacy by our government suggests that it is going against the essence of its existence.

Citizen privacy also gives citizens the freedom to participate in social and political activities. A significant element in the privilege of participating in social and political movements is privacy, without being coerced. At the ballot, safeguarding privacy is the number one goal because failure to do this inhibits voters from voting as their heart wants (Floridi,2016). Due to confidentiality, discussion of many political ideas and beliefs is done without disruption. The 4th amendment protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. This law allows citizens to exercise their right to privacy without interruptions from the legal officers.

In as much as citizen privacy is more important than national security, some national security factors should be considered before going after the privacy of a citizen. Securing citizens' general welfare surpasses personal concerns about the privacy of citizens (Johnson,205). This is the government's most important job, and it will stop at nothing to achieve it. Surveillance allows the government to spy on suspects before they capture them and charge them with criminal offenses. Wiretapping and monitoring bank account details

CITIZEN PRIVACY VS NATIONAL SECURITY4 give them the tangible evidence needed to eliminate a suspect before they become a danger to national security.

In conclusion, citizen privacy gives us more reasons to not cause problems with the government in their primary role of facilitating national security. Citizen privacy makes us aware of our rights as citizens. It makes us more careful not to get involved in criminal activities or give our information to potential cyberbullies who can use them against us.

CITIZEN PRIVACY VS NATIONAL SECURITY5 References Solove, D.,(10). Reasons Why Privacy Matters. Linkedin. Retrieved July, 14, 2015. https://teachprivacy.com/10-reasons-privacy-matters/ Floridi, L. (2016). On human dignity as a foundation for the right to privacy. Philosophy & Technology, 29(4), 307-312. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13347-016-0220-8 Hirst, W., Phelps, E. A., Meksin, R., Vaidya, C. J., Johnson, M. K., Mitchell, K. J., ... & Mather, M. (2015). A ten-year follow-up of a study of memory for the attack of September 11, 2001: Flashbulb memories and memories for flashbulb events. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 144(3), 604 https://psycnet.apa.org/buy/2015-09755-001 Weber, R. H. (2015). Internet of things: Privacy issues revisited. Computer Law & Security Review, 31(5), 618-627. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0267364915001156