Cup of Java

Weekly Wrap-Up
1. Does everyone have a right to privacy? Why or why not? Who doesn't deserve a right to privacy, if anyone? Why? Everyone deserves privacy. I think those who do not are those who are *known* to be involved in criminal acts and those who have in the past- ie- those in prision.
2. When is an invasion of privacy justifiable? When is it not? When there is a justifiable question of wrong doing going on, invasion of privacy makes sense. If there's not a significant reason to be poking around where one doesn't belong, then it's not justifiable.
3. Do employers have the right to monitor employee Internet usage (recording keystrokes, surveying email, etc.)? Why or why not? There's a point at which it isn't unreasonable for employers to monitor Internet useage but it comes after a drop in productivity or seeing employees visit inappropriate web sites (for the office at least). Other wise I don't see the need for it. Surveying email and such can be bad too since there's so much spam in peoples inboxes, that time you accidently may have hit on a link you shouldn't have, could cause trouble. Employers need to acknowledge this. At my old job we had to access some info from the fbi website for research. Every once in a while someone would forget that it's not ".com" but ".gov" and they'd hit the porn site instead. This was usually followed by a curse of some kind.
4. Are surveillance cameras in banks, ATMs, parking lots, shopping centers, stadiums, etc. an unreasonable violation of personal privacy? Why or why not? When (and where) does the placement of a surveillance camera intrude on privacy? I don't think surveillance cameras at ATMs, banks and the like are unreasonable. They have helped to solve many crimes that often take place in those areas.
5. Does the government have a right to monitor everything we do in the name of national security? Why or why not? Under what circumstances might you support something like TIA? To monitor everything, no. Unless someone is under suspicion for reasonable reasons, there's no need for big brother to come into play.