Mohamed Rashid Al Balushi

Examining Government Surveillance Programs and the Conflict of Individual Privacy with National Security Interests. Comparative Study between Great Britain and the United States of America. Mohamed Rashid Al Balushi

The United States government surveillance programs have been a topic of heated debate since September 11, 2001, the fumes being further ignited after the Snowden revelations in 2013. Journalists have released more than 7000 top-secret documents entrusted to them by Snowden. The documents outline the NSA hacking military computer systems in China, and the taping of fibre-optic cables by the GCHQ to collect and store global email messages, calls, and Facebook posts, and share such information with the NSA. The leaks also contained documents demonstrating the cooperation between Britain and the United States in monitoring social media and the NSA permitting the GCHQ to access its data without supervision. Privacy today faces threats from a growing surveillance norm justified in the name of national security. With the increased number of terrorist attacks occurring globally, it is undisputed that intelligence is vital in combating terrorism and espionage. Nevertheless, privacy safeguards and protections are necessary in ensuring that a legitimate process is followed when collecting foreign intelligence, as well as ensuring appropriate balance between the privacy of persons and national security. The book focuses on comparing and examining both governmental surveillance programs in the United States and Great Britain. The book refers to surveillance, privacy and related laws, and aims to highlight the necessity of accomplishing both the protection of national security and the protection of individual rights, specifically privacy, as end goals.