Blog #8- Five Eyes

The Five Eyes Alliance (FVEY) is a cooperative intelligence network that monitors the electronic communications of citizens and foreign governments. The five countries in the FVEY include the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The Five Eyes Alliance is a result of the UKUSA Agreement of 1946. That makes this organization the world's oldest intelligence partnership. 

So what does the FVEY even do? Previously, this organization monitored foreign communications among different countries for political interest. Nowadays, they monitor the private communications between millions of individuals worldwide. Five Eyes mainly uses methods such as signal intelligence to monitor the citizens of other FVEY countries. In the organization, the members do not motion the citizens of their own country they monitor the other countries in Five Eyes. This is so they can work around the domestic surveillance regulations of their country. I find this a little concerning. 

FVEY collects information by intercepting private communications--such as telephone calls, faxes, emails, and text messages--from infrastructure such as satellites, telephone networks, and fiber optic cables. FVEY also receives records of user data from large technology companies-- including Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, Paltalk, YouTube, AOL, Skype, and Apple.

So what are the pros to The Five Eyes Alliance? Although everything I just said can be quite scary to really think about, the FVEY has good intentions. For the most part, it seems that FVEY is designed to protect us and the security of our nations. The internet can do fascinating things, and it only makes sense to use it to our advantage and for our protection. Some benefits include being able to recognize threats before it is too late. This could possibly avoid wars or mass terroristic threats to the country.  

Are there any negatives to The Five Eyes Alliance? If you ask me, yes. Although I appreciate what they are trying to do to protect us, or at least what they are supposed to be doing, I do feel violated. Funny enough this seems to be a recurring pattern I am learning in this class. I have realized this semester more than ever that I really have no privacy, even in my own home. Everything you do online is being watched by the FVEY at all times. There is absolutely nothing you can hide from them. For The Five Eyes Alliance, invasion of privacy does not exist, and I feel this is a negative of this organization. 

There are many different ways in which the FVEY affects society as a whole both negatively and positively. Like I said before, no matter who you are, you are being watched. However, this is all for the greater protection of our society. If we didn't have organizations like the Five Eyes, most likely more dangers and threats would occur to our daily lives. I don't feel, unlike other things, that this specifically targets certain demographics. For the most part, as long as you are not a threat they are not targeting you. For example, if you and your best friend are on the phone talking about going to see a movie this weekend the FVEY is not paying attention to your phone call whatsoever. 

In the end, I think The Five Eyes Alliance is extremely important to our lives today. For me, the pros outweigh the cons. Yes, don't get me wrong, knowing I will never have complete privacy is quite uncomfortable. However, I do not do anything that should be of concern to anyone and if they need to look into my information for the greater protection of the country then I am okay with that. I feel a sense of ease knowing that there are people out there constantly looking for threats that could possibly affect my family and me. So through all of the possible cons and loopholes within the Five Eyes, I am thankful for them.