The Appearance of the Internet - Essay Example

United s of Secrets” Media Literacy. by The appearance of Internet was perceived as revolution by modern society as it gave us new incredible opportunities in terms of work and communication. Social networks have substituted live communication, Skype gave a possibility to call any person in the world for free and shrank the distance literally,e-mails pushed out paper letters forever. Companies got a chance to operate on different continents in different countries; people became closer and got engaged into virtual world creating their avatars in social networks. The speed of processes and their incredible diversity broadened people`s perception of reality and communication. We were so glad to get all these opportunities that forgot to find out how these processes are made and how are they regulated inside. Lack of privacy and absolute absence of safety appeared as a real drawback of the Internet. When we write a letter to a friend we make sure that the envelope is sealed and that no one will have the possibility to open it and to read it. When we send an e-mail we can hardly guess who will have a chance to look it through because the mechanism seems complicated and incomprehensible. Up to the events described in “United States of Secrets” Internet users believed that their Internet activity was safe from intrusion. But it was just an illusion: it turned out that everything created and sent online is monitored, collected, and analyzed, and the most creepy is the fact that it is done by the government which is supposed to protect and take care of its citizens. The film “United States of Secrets” showed how far the authorities can go in preventing terrorism, how easily the principles of freedom granted by constitution can be violated. “United States of America” revealed that the administrations of the former and the present presidents deceived and continue to lie to people intentionally to hide their illegal operations. This documentary is the story of the lost privacy and inability of different branches of power to work coherently and consistently. Moreover, “United States of America” is the story that raises this question and draws wide public to the discussion of the issues of mass surveillance, Internet safety and privacy. The central to the understanding of the whole concept of surveillance is the existence of the person named Edward Snowden. A lot of people heard about him and about things that he has done, but “United States of Secrets” explained the degree of risk he was subjected to and the nature of his actions in detail. Nevertheless, it is important to remind briefly about this massive international espionage scandal. Edward Snowden is considered a very controversial personality: some call him a superhero while others consider him a traitor and a whistleblower. He was the one who revealed that in most cases ordinary American citizens were the target of CIA and NSA surveillance: these organizations were legally permitted to collect all the information from personal phone calls to photos on social networks. But common citizens were not the only victims of NSA and CIA. The revelation of the fact that US government was spying on the majority of world leaders with the help of its secret programs created tension in the relationships of the countries as well. The movie tells his story from the very beginning, from the moment Snowden decided to leak the classified documents of the government regarding mass Internet surveillance. Snowden worked for the government (CIA and National Security Agency) and stole secret documents of strategic value to expose them through media. He then has been convicted by absence on the matter of stealing government property and espionage after which he escaped from the country to be hiding in Russia. The most interesting in this are the files that he stole. Secret documents that became public property after The Guardian and The Washington Post received them from Mr. Snowden consisted mainly of the cases of violation of the human rights on the matters of freedom of speech and private space. There were a lot various documents on which Snowden commented himself: starting from the documents that proved that NSA was listening to the private calls of American citizens to the documents revealing that NSA is permitted to collect all the information from social networks of ordinary users. These documents included facts about surveillance and using wiretaps in order to spy on the people and not only in the USA but all across the world. This once again made people rethink what illusory “free” and “democratic” world they live. The movie raised the question of controversy of Snowden`s action and made a viewer think of what he would be able to do and would do in similar situation. In broader sense this is the question of personal conscience and honesty which sometimes contradicts to the principles of the service or work. And it is every single decision of every human being that eventually makes progress. So in other words it is possible to say that this is partially a film about personal choice of higher freedom. Another issue is loss of credit to the government provoked by this film. In “United States of Secrets” it is emphasized several times that NSA as well as presidents denied spying on American people. Snowden leaks showed how little government can be trusted and how far it can go in its protection of the nation. And all these issues are serious because it provides a clear and objective view on the problems that will be even more actual in the following years of continuous media growth. Most simply government says that this is done for the better of citizens and their safety from outside aggression. It is clear that the hysteria of surveillance started after 9/11 attacks but is that the way to fight against possible aggression. Moreover, the situation on the world arena has changed, but government started using illegal methods in order to “guarantee safety”. In reality it is USA that fights everyone around the world for the international economic dominance and professionalism of its army. The last one who attacked Uncle Sam was crazy Japanese Imperator and nowadays Japan is a political satellite of the USA as well as countries like Iraq and Afghanistan (of course not so stable). Here we have an ethical problem “the means justify the end”. In order to save the nation from any threat a government monitors, surveys, and traces their own people. The nation is regarded by the government as a child that cannot help himself and must be fed sweet lies instead of knowing a bitter truth. “To protect your” they say. Nation is as honorable as each of its citizens and when even one citizen is offended unfairly that means that something is wrong. This situation undermines the very principle of democracy on which the country was built and the most horrible fact is that it is only a visible part of the iceberg. And the last but not the least issue discussed by the film is the illusion of privacy on the Internet. The case with Gmail proves that people who owe the most influential resources on the Internet can hardly control themselves in their desire to earn more money. Thus it was discovered that Google stores all the information about search queries while special program on Gmail scans all the e-mails for adjusting a special advertisement for the users. And though for many people reading their private messages is insulting, such people as Sergey Brin, the creator of Google, suggests that there is no harm if a robot scans personal information of users in its own purposes. Such pieces are only known facts and there are most probably a lot more than that. Where is the line between national security and security of an average citizen and his private life? It turns out that every single piece of information created by a person on the Internet can be accessed by the Internet providers, companies, and a government finally. So literally when leading a life online we are selling it to those interested in it. And though it seems that there is nothing to worry about for all law-abiding citizens but in reality such approach can lead to very drastic consequences. How far are we from the world described in “1984” when citizens are watched and taped with CCTVs day and night for their own protection? So raising public discussion about surveillance and privacy Snowden with his leaks made many people think about the concept of media literacy. It seems that children at school should be taught how to use the Internet right to keep personal information really personal and inaccessible. Many young and inexperienced users overwhelmed with the possibility of the Internet upload tons of their private photos to social networks and reveal their hobbies, friends and places they visit easily. It is important to remember that breaking social accounts is as easy as breaking of a post box and that the most valuable and the most important documents must always be preserved in hard copy. Mass surveillance revealed by Snowden is the motive for all of us to think seriously about our privacy and media literacy. Read More