Civil Liberties and Anti-Terrorism
Civil liberties remain a fundamental part of any constitution and, especially for the United States Constitution. Both the U. S citizens and foreigners subscribe to and obey the Constitution; thus, they both entitled to its protection in equal measure. The critical question comes in when the need for security concerns and public protection and still maintaining civil liberties.
The growing incidences of terrorism have forced the U.S government to draw even a thinner line between its anti-terrorism policies and still stand by civil liberties. The controversies of terror suspects’ interrogation, detainment period before arraignment in court, and maintaining the Miranda law of having the suspect represented by a lawyer or State Attorney and not coercing them into making statements is a subject long debate. The terror suspects are believed to enjoy these civil liberties, and the concept of innocent until proven guilty tends to put the public safety at high risk. Government agencies often want to gain more information from the terror suspects to protect their citizens and prevent further attacks; this may mean coercing then into making statements.
While anticipating terrorism acts, the U.S government has been putting measures to monitor such activities. Protection of citizen personal data and the right of privacy is often non-negotiable in the context of anti-terrorism fight (Peyrou, 2015). Violation of civil right liberties o has been discussed whenever the State monitor personal information of the public. The idea of personal data being sold out to interested parties, used for unlawful activities, or even used against the same persons has called for the protection of the right to personal data and privacy. On the other side, the availability of this data may help the security agencies garner more information and ensure public safety is maintained. Conclusively, the Constitution must be adhered to, but when measures are required to ensure public safety, the thin line between security concerns and civil liberties is usually overstepped.
Reference
Sylvie Peyrou. (2015). Anti-terrorism struggle versus the protection of personal data: a European point of view on some recent transatlantic misunderstandings. Journal of Policy, Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism. 10(1), 48-63 www.tandfonline.com/loi/rpic20 DOI:10.1080/18335330.2015.1028776