Description
Book SynopsisThis work examines the philosophical foundations of information ethics and their potential for application to contemporary problems in U.S. foreign intelligence surveillance. Questions concerning the limits of government intrusion on protected Fourth Amendment rights are examined against the backdrop of the post-9/11 period. Changes to U.S. foreign intelligence surveillance law and policy are analyzed by applying the traditional ethical theories commonly used to support or discount these changes, namely utilitarian and contractarian ethical theories. The resulting research combines both theoretical elements, through its use of analytic philosophy, and qualitative research methods, through its use of legislation, court cases, news media, and scholarship surrounding U.S. foreign intelligence surveillance. Using the U.S.A. PATRIOT Act, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and the Terrorist Surveillance Program as case examples, the author develops and applies a normative ethic
Trade ReviewAtkin’s ethical study is a fine piece of academic work. Her guiding principle that politico-legal decisions should have a moral basis is no less crucial than the necessity of questioning, through sound ethical reflection, an implicit or explicit morality that is taken for granted. Liberal societies face the dilemma of vacillating between liberty and security. Atkin develops a theoretico-practical strategy based on the idea of proportionality, beyond both a paternalistic approach and a utilitarian or contractarian calculus. -- Rafael Capurro, International Center for Information Ethics (ICIE)
Table of ContentsPreface Abbreviations Part I: Information Ethics in the Post 9/11 Period Chapter 1. Information Ethics in the Post 9/11 Period Chapter 2. Philosophical Approaches to Information Ethics Part II: Civil Liberties in Insecure Times: Case Studies in Applied Ethics Chapter 3. U.S.A. PATRIOT Act: A Necessary Tool in the War on Terror? Chapter 4. Warrantless Surveillance: An Extension of War Time Powers? Chapter 5. FISA Modernization: Mitigating Legal Liability Part III: The Future of Privacy in Post 9/11 America Chapter 6. Privacy Rights and Limits of Government Intrusion Chapter 7. The Future of Privacy in Post 9/11 America: Conclusion Works Cited Appendices Legislation A. U.S.A. PATRIOT ACT of 2001, selected sections B. U.S.A. PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 C. Protect America Act of 2007, selected sections D. FISA Amendments Act of 2008, selected sections Case Summaries E. R. v. Oakes F. Terry v. Ohio
