Security and Technology

The expansive scope of national security makes it a topic of utmost importance to all Americans. National security law and policy affect nearly every aspect of our lives, our health, our safety, and our dignity. In fact, the topic is so far-reaching that the term “national security” is often exploited for ulterior commercial or political purposes to increase profits, obtain more government funding, and expand government authorities in areas that historically were not related to national security. Indeed, one could reasonably make the claim that we are now in the midst of a national security industrial complex that has become self-perpetuating.Due to various competing interests — political, military, and commercial — it is incumbent on us as citizens and lawyers to be attentive and critical of new laws, amendments to old laws, and new technologies employed by the government in purported furtherance of keeping us safer as a nation. Similarly, we cannot neglect the exponential growth of mass data collection in the private sector facially used for “mere commercial” purposes. And as more government work is outsourced to private companies, the line between the private and public sector is blurred. Thus, privacy can no longer be preserved by focusing solely on government action.