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understand that while spying on citizens by the state for the purpose of national security could
be justified to a certain extent, there is the chance that the personal information may be misused
or used for extortion due to vulnerability. The Privacy Act of 1974, therefore, establishes certain
controls over what personal information is collected by the federal government and how it
should be used.

How Your Privacy Is Invaded

The invasion on American citizen’s privacy by state-corporate surveillance network is a
disturbing emerging trend. The complex intertwining of policing forces and private companies for
monitoring domestic life has eroded the line that separates what is legal and what is illegal. The
breach of privacy of US citizens can broadly be classified into following four categories:

1. Federal surveillance

In the wake of the 9/11 attack, federal surveillance is being carried out by none other than the
National Security Agency (NSA), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and Department of
Defense (DoD) along with the FBI and IRS. These agencies use public and private sources to
gather personal information, which ranges from birthday and marriage status to property
registrations and tax records. The collusion of these agencies with private companies can have
serious implications in the future. Many people, therefore, believe that these authorities are
th
overriding guarantee of privacy provided by the 4 Amendment.
2. State and local law enforcement agencies

As per a report, in 2011 alone the federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies made 1.3
million requests to cellphone companies for personal records. In another case, cell-phone
tracking carried out by 200 local law enforcement agencies had no warrant to do so. There is an
increasing concern that these law enforcement agencies are spending multi-millions of dollars
for state surveillance on different communities.

3. Telecommunications, websites and “apps” companies

A revelation came not long ago that the major telecom companies like AT&T and Verizon along
with the software giants like Google, Facebook, and Amazon have been systematically
collecting user data and commercializing it for corporate purposes. In this spying game, the
“app” industry is not far behind. Most smartphone users are unaware that when they download a
“free” app they are downloading a Trojan horse.

4. Private data aggregators

The modus operandi of private data aggregators is to collect personal data, repackage it, and
offer it for sale. Companies like ChoicePoint, Intelius, and Lexis Nexis are striking example of
this type of spying. With the help of technology, these companies track an individual’s
keystrokes, bill payments, and phrases inside emails as well as GPS tracking.

98 Cyber Warnings E-Magazine – June 2017 Edition
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