STAFF EDIT: Wireless on tap

The issue of how to balance national security with personal privacy has always been a contentious topic in the U.S. The implementation of the Patriot Act post-9/11 caused much debate, with some calling it out for violating people's right to privacy and others asserting that the changes were necessary in order to protect the country from another terrorist attack.

The controversial topic was broached once again on Monday when federal officials announced a plan to seek new regulations for the Internet that would allow them to wiretap online forms of communication. The new regulations, which the Obama administration plans to present next year, would allow the federal government to monitor communication via networking tools such as Skype, Facebook and BlackBerry messenger, The New York Times reported.

Nobody likes the thought of wiretapping. When the topic comes up in the national conversation, Americans, who have been raised in a country that claims to prize individual freedoms over all else, naturally get defensive, and for good reason. No one wants the government to be able to listen to their conversations, read their e-mails or super-stalk their Facebook page.

But the fact is, sometimes wiretapping is necessary in order to combat the very real threat of terrorism in today's society. If there is a legitimate reason to suspect that someone presents a serious threat to national security, then it makes sense that the government should be able to see his Skype chats. To wiretap phone lines but not online messages would be foolish, considering the huge amount of communication that is done on the Internet. The thought of the government reading our BBMs may be scary, but the thought of a terrorist attack occurring because the government failed to thoroughly investigate a suspicious figure is even scarier.

The problem comes in trying to figure out where to draw the line of exactly who the government is wiretapping, the same problem that has always made the issue such a touchy one. As long as there is a legitimate security reason for spying on the person in question, and the government goes through the proper legal procedures for obtaining a warrant, there is no reason why the government should be able to tap phone lines but not Skype chats. Like everything else, wiretapping must be done responsibly. But this is a case where national security has to take the top priority.