Privacy in Intelligence Agencies

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses the use of electronic surveillance, notably email surveillance, that is of fundamental importance within counterintelligence investigations. The paper points out the need for an explicit mention in the employer/employee contract that these sorts of measures and intrusions into personal privacy will occur routinely and without warning. The paper discusses how intelligence agencies can not maintain national security if no personal privacy is surrendered, but stresses that this privacy can only be surrendered voluntarily and under contract by intelligence officers. The paper contrasts this to ordinary civilians who must be protected by the law and investigated only when necessary.

From the Paper:

"Counterintelligence, by its very nature, is designed to be intrusive. This means that, very often, it steps outside the bounds of what ordinary Americans consider to be their right to personal privacy. Essentially, when intelligence officers seek to recruit moles in foreign intelligence agencies and, to a greater extent, when individuals attempt to acquire jobs within U.S. intelligence agencies, they become subject to an intense level of scrutiny--ideally, from the perspective of the agency, the maximum amount of scrutiny they are capable of. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Nusraty, Tim and John Pascua. 2006. "E-Mail Privacy in the Workplace." Georgia State University. Available: http://gsulaw.gsu.edu/lawand/papers/fa99/nusraty_pascua/.
• Persson, Anders J. and Sven Ove Hansson. 2003. "Privacy at Work Ethical Criteria." Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 42, iss. 1.

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