How 9/11 changed your life.

45 days after the incident that shook one of the most powerful nations in the world, a bill was hastily passed. The Patriot Act . This changed the world.The patriot act was passed by US president George Bush as an direct response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.It was a effort to tighten U.S. national security, particularly as it related to foreign terrorism. In general, the act included three main provisions:

•  It expanded abilities of law enforcement to surveil, including by tapping domestic and international phones
• It eased interagency communication to allow federal agencies to more effectively use all available resources in counterterrorism efforts; and
• It increased penalties for terrorism crimes and an expanded list of activities which would qualify someone to be charged with terrorism.

 Since it was not possible for the US government to collect all data, they outsourced it. This is where we come in the picture. Many companies emerged in true american entrepreneurial  spirit to meet the government’s demands. For example, Edward Snowden worked for Booz Allen Hamilton, a consulting firm that describes itself as a leading provider of management and technology services to “government clients in defense, intelligence, and the civil sectors.” Yet Booz Allen Hamilton is just one of many private contractors.Even right now 70% of the U.S. Intelligence Budget Goes to Private Contractors. This is what created the big data craze. Other  government agencies obviously followed the United States NSA, for example britain’s GCHQ.

As of now we know all the big countries are actively spying on their own citizens. Although this is not confirmed FOR India per se, it may be possible that we are also under surveillance. 

So what does mass surveillance change for you?

Mass surveillance is a threat to human democracy as we know it. Time and again we have seen governments justifying mass surveilllence in the name of stopping terrorism but in reality this did not happen..

“If you haven’t done anything wrong, you have nothing to fear.

As absurd as it sounds, this is a common statement used to justify mass surveillance. It introduces this kind of notion that you are a traitor to your country if you can’t sacrifice your privacy for the greater good. This idea is nonsensical. If you look into evidence of what the NSA used all of its data collection for, it was found that only 1% of it was related to terrorist activities. People not wanting to share literally everything about their life doesn’t make them traitors or selfish. Right to privacy  is a basic human right .

So what is the solution? 

Throw away that little tracking device in our pockets? Go live in a cave? 

No. Humans shouldn’t have to live under false identity to escape surveillance. It is our right to demand stricter laws and have no tolerance towards any kind of surveillance. We shouldn’t let data leaks by big companies slide.It’s time to start a movement. Otherwise, we all are going to have to read George Orwell’s  ‘1984’ as a buyer  guide!