united states. government

The Patriot Act, which was passed shortly after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, has allowed the government to monitor communication by phone, email, or social media, to access credit and bank reports, or to track activity on the Internet. This book examines the new methods used by the government to spy on citizens, the reasons it became necessary, and the tradeoffs between increased safety and a loss of privacy, and the moral arguments for and against these tradeoffs.

This book examines the many new methods of data collection, the rationale behind developing them, the pros and cons of developing these new technologies, and the difficulties of restricting the use of these technologies before laws can be passed to protect citizens from abuses.

This book not only looks at the new methods for spying on citizens, but on the technological shortfalls that allow hackers to gain private information.