United States of Surveillance

In June 2013, Americans learned that Orwell’s Big Brother was much more than speculation when ex-National Security Administration (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden leaked information on the NSA’s collection of telephony metadata and other national surveillance programs. Since the attacks of September 11, 2001, American citizens have paid the price and been victimized in the process of national security. Unfortunately, the current classified nature of the bills regulating these programs are not transparent enough to disclose information to the public. With the information world growing around us faster than we can develop laws and security to match, there is a greater need to reform the laws currently governing us to protect the autonomy of our personal data both big or small. This paper examines Internet privacy laws and regulations, the leaked surveillance programs that coattail these acts, evaluates the proposed legal reforms, and describes how to fight back as a citizen