Moral considerations of technology are the ethical aspects of humanity that will change with the use of new technological innovation. One such area is the issue of government surveillance of its citizens’ online activity. The government has various reasons for use of new technology in tracking the websites visited, emails sent, and information shared among people living in the country. Sufficient laws passed in parliament in support of this makes such surveillance legal and enforceable.
This is because it is legal for the government to take sufficient action to ensure utmost maintenance of the country’s security. Furthermore, the online world poses a great risk to both the users and the country at large. This is why departments, such as USCYBERCOM, came into being (Singer and Friedman, 634). Their legal existence helps to keep terrorists at bay by minimizing the amount of information that they have access to and tracking of emails.
However, as pertains to the scrutiny availed to immigrants and their online activity one cannot help but notice the overstepping of some moral grounds. Ignorance and utter disrespect of privacy lines on the premise of constant suspicion may occur (Kizza, 486). Private messages are undisclosed, much as the owners may prefer that no one have access to such messages. Bank details and passwords are available to determine the individuals’ sources of income and assess possible interaction with terrorist cartels.
The individual’s civil rights become immaterial. This is morally wrong, much as it is legally acceptable as a security measure. Morality dictates equality and freedom as the main guidelines to human living. Freedom of privacy and interaction is a right that even immigrants deserve to ensure that they are not alienated.
Works Cited
Kizza, J. M. (2007). Ethical and Social Issues In The Information Age. London: Springer
Verlag.
Singer, P. W., & Friedman, A. (2014). Cybersecurity and Cyberwar: What everyone needs to
know.
