Sunday, May 3, 2015

Governing the Media: How the Government Deserves More Power in Regards to Protecting THe United States' National Security









(Number 1)

 Governing the Media: How the Government Deserves More Power in Regards to Protecting The United States' National Security 

The government in the United States has a responsibility to its citizens to protect their best interest and safety. In today's world safety no longer means just fighting wars physically with guns and blood, nor does it mean giant arms races, these are parts of national security, but the newest obligation of the the government is to defend its people from the possible harms of the social networking and public broadcasting.
Social Media Requires Lots of Private Information that Can be Seen by Harmful Sources
Social Networks are extremely useful results of the digital world. People can share photos from each others trips, talk to old friends, find new friends, make plans, find jobs, and make all sorts of productive connections for one's self and their community. However, each site takes a lot of information from anyone who signs up. Not necessarily social security numbers or bank codes, but email accounts, phone numbers, location, addresses, and many other extremely private details. By allowing the governments interference. It is the public's best interest to allow the government to keep an eye on who is seeing all this information and blocking anything that may. 
Anything that is put out to the public, whether it be on TV, radio, the Internet, or Social media can be seen by millions of people. It is necessary to remember that any crude or potentially dangerous information needs to be correctly monitored by the government. The same way the government would patrol for a potential invasion, they need to have the ability to prevent potential cyber attacks or be able to find information that could help them stop other attacks.
https://ntxheeyees.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/screen-shot-2012-01-20-at-5-28-02-am.png
Social Media is a Method of Threatening National Security
Media is a way of spreading information and news, but as well as allowing people to connect and be productive, it can lead people to connect and do harm. For example, there are terrorist sites that actively recruit new members via the Internet. In the case of the Boson Bombing in 2013, the two young men who set off the bombs were seduced by the extremist methods they had seen online. Had the government been able to stop this sites or sites like it, then terrorists would not have been able to recruit these two, and the bombings would have not have happened, at least internally.
Image result for anti-terrorismFeatured photo - What’s Scarier: Terrorism, or Governments Blocking Websites in its Name?
In Europe, there has been a large push to remove terrorist organizations from using the internet. The French minister is currently working to block sites that are deemed a threat, and replace them with a picture of a red hand, like the one shown above. After bombings in Brussels and Paris the EU has began to consider banning websites at the cost of social liberties as well. To promote safety and keep these dangerous organizations from communicating, certain information must be prohibited.
Does Government Control Breech Freedom of Speech Laws?
In the United States, freedom of speech is regarded as one of the most important laws established by the bill of rights and is the quintessential aspect of democracy. However, not allowing certain information to be broadcasted or seen does limit freedom of speech. Yet, it is important to way the costs and benefits against each other. Certain information shown on the Internet is self-incriminating, the government could take off private information about people that they may not want to be seen. Also, some internet postings can be hurtful and unlawful, there are not many regulations regarding the Internet, but it is a part of American society, and just as there are laws in the non-digital world, there need to be regulations in the digital world.

Without Government Control, Anybody Could Endanger the United States
What is important to recall about social media, is that it allows for anybody to put any information they find on the Internet. This makes it accessible to over a billion people. Someone who works at a low level government job could potentially post a selfie of them self at work, and have some sort of access code on their card that could provide someone with information to breech the governments most private information. Allowing the government to override and block this post, would secure the safety of the people and stop the potential hacking of important codes or other information. Essentially a janitor at the White House could have numbers on their key card, which if by some lack of thought were to be posted on the Internet by them or just someone on a tour, it could leak vital information.
 Image result for net neutrality
Governments New Ability to "Micromanage"
 In February the FCC passed the Net Neutrality Act, which gives the government the ability to regulate what is produced on the Internet on any source, This was in accordance to a plan created by Obama that allows the government to interfere with any information they find to be harmful. This will allow them to provide more national security by eliminating harmful sites that could produce propaganda or illegal activity against the United States.

No comments:

Post a Comment