Privacy Is More Important Than Security

As human beings and citizens of the world, everyone values their privacy. It is a right that is often looked over and taken for granted by most. Since the beginning of time, there have been concerns about individuals’ rights to privacy and their personal information remaining confidential. Our founding fathers had concerns about this which is why, “…this right has developed into

"_ÑŒ_ÑŒ Living in today_Ñés age, a technological advanced era in which billions of people who have access to the internet and at the touch of their hands or a click of a button we are able to access thousands upon thousands of websites that can bring us to an information overload of anything we may desire or need. We may also access these features through our cell phones, but did you have any idea that the government also can look through our personal information? Whether it be personal or whatever we were to look up, they have the ability to find anything that we do, but should it only be if they have a good enough reason to be looking for specifics? For example government is obligated to listen in on private phone calls through landlines , texts on cell phones and even check through social medias. The government is allowed to track the time date and the location of

During the past decade, an issue has arisen from the minds of people, on which is more important? Privacy or national security? The problem with the privacy is that people do not feel they have enough of it and national security is increasing causing the government to be less worried about the people. National security is growing out of control which has led to the decrease in people’s privacy and has created fear in the eyes of U.S. citizens. “Twelve years after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and amid a summer of revelations about the extent of the surveillance state built up to prevent others, leaders, experts and average Americans alike are searching for the right balance between security and privacy” (Noble). Americans should be able to live their daily lives without fear of an overpowered government or a “big brother” figure taking over. “According to a CBS News poll released Tuesday evening, nearly 6 in 10 Americans said they disapproved of the federal government’s collecting phone records of ordinary Americans in order to reduce terrorism” (Gonchar). While it is good to keep our country safe with security, American’s privacy should be more important because there is a substantial amount of national security, the people 's rights should matter first.

Privacy is one of the most controversial, yet most essential topics in the discussion of civil liberties. Some treat it as a necessity along with life, liberty, and property, whereas other people see it as something that shouldn’t get in the way of things like security (Sadowski).

Privacy is what allows people to feel secure in their surroundings. With privacy, one is allowed to withhold or distribute the information they want by choice, but the ability to have that choice is being violated in today’s society. Benjamin Franklin once said, “He who sacrifices freedom or liberty will eventually have neither.” And that’s the unfortunate truth that is and has occurred in recent years. Privacy, especially in such a fast paced moving world, is extremely vital yet is extremely violated, as recently discovered the NSA has been spying on U.S. citizens for quite a while now; based on the Fourth Amendment, the risk of leaked and distorted individual information, as well as vulnerability to lack of anonymity.

With increased concerns about school safety due to widely publicized school violence, schools, responding to demands of concerned parents and educators, have implemented heightened security measures. School surveillance remains relatively unregulated by the government, meaning that spying technology can be instated without notifying parents or students and is largely left to the discretion and oversight of administration. This has peaked concerns of students and their families who argue unregulated surveillance is unnecessary, too invasive and harmful to educational environments. Elaborating on the extent of harms surveillance can cause in school environments, Melinda Anderson argues in her Atlantic article “When School Feels Like Prison” surveillance

Privacy is a natural right that needs to be kept because if it is not a free society cannot function as one. If we give up our total privacy, we give up our freedom, which in essence throws away our liberal society. Every individual enjoys the act of being alone because it allows him or her to be themselves without facing any type of judgment. Every individual would cringe at the thought of being watched at all hours, while eating, sleeping, communicating, or participating in another activity. I would would feel embarrassed and petrified to know that every time I took a shower I was being watched. Everyone enjoys his or her right to privacy in America. In my opinion, the government has no right to invade our privacy because not everyone is a criminal and gather all this information

The horrific September 11th event, along with others, has changed the way people think about their privacy. The fear is so great that we are willing to trade off our privacy, in essence our freedom, for the sake of security. People argue that if they do not have anything to hide then why worry if the government is spying on us. Nonetheless, it is not about not having anything to hide. Simply, it is about

Would you give up your privacy for a little bit of security? The two go hand in hand. Our advancing technology provides our government with the tools to fulfill its top priority—national security. But where is the line drawn between security and privacy? Privacy is not only a value to many Americans—it is a right protected under the Fourth Amendment. But to what extent? The technology meant to protect us seems to be invading the little privacy we have left, having diminished greatly over the years. It has been said, “Give me liberty or give me death!” Since 9/11, security in our daily lives has been a concern for many Americans and the government has since made efforts to secure the nation. The measures taken to protect our nation through the

One main factor of privacy is that it allows individuals to further explore their independence and individuality. People define themselves by exercising power over information about themselves, being that the United States is a country for the people whether you're Republican, Democratic or Independent. Having the government file and organize personal information is a violation. A free country does not ask people to answer for the choices made and do not have to choose what is shared and what is hidden. What if the government doesn’t protect your information with adequate security, and an identity thief obtains it and uses it to defraud you? Even if you have nothing to hide, the government can cause you a lot of harm (Solove

Privacy is defined by Dictionary.com as “freedom from damaging publicity, public scrutiny, secret surveillance, or unauthorized disclosure of one’s personal data or information”. This is something that most people value extremely highly. From everyday civilians to government officials, everybody wants some level of privacy. Many say surveillance technology denies them the right to privacy that they are given at birth as American citizens. However, there should be a small amount of wiggle room when it comes to this technology, in order to protect the country and its people. In “Visible Man: Ethics in a World without Secrets”, Peter Singer gives us an insight into privacy in the government. He discusses the

Privacy is something everyone covets. As an American, privacy is a right protected by the Bill of Rights in the Constitution of the United States of America. The Fourth Amendment states, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” (Congress.gov, 2014)

It is a factor that sets us apart from other governments. The further we move away from valuing privacy, the closer we get to a totalitarian government such as the one under Big Brother in George Orwell’s 1984. More power can be asserted over citizens if the controlling force knows (and has) a large amount of information about them. Privacy allows individuals to have control over what kind of image they want to put out into the world. It is a basic principle of autonomy. Today, people are practically carrying location devices with them everywhere they go, in the form of smart phones. In addition, the Internet of Things, which includes anything that can be connected to wireless internet, grows bigger and bigger by the day. More and more information of specific whereabouts or actions of an individual can be collected, stored, and looked through. This surveillance is an invasion of privacy and contradicts the original democratic values of this country.

In today’s society, technology has become one of the most used and most sought after developments of the millennium. In a recent case the FBI petitioned for Apple to unlock the phone of Syed Farook, the man responsible for shooting and killing 14 people in San Bernardino, California. The FBI believed Apple should create a new software that would not erase the data from iPhones after ten failed attempts to unlock the phone. Apple replied that they had a responsibility and an obligation to protect the privacy of their customers. Supporters of Apple 's response have argued, creating a new software was not a wise decision. In the past, government agencies have been known for their abuse of power. Had Apple chosen to create a master key for this particular case, there would be no limit to government invasion of privacy. In the end Apple could have potentially lost costumers by changing the protection of their cellular products. The issue has already been raised that creating software to access one locked device could potentially open the door for hackers to invade millions of other people’s devices. I agree that Apple should not create a new software to unlock the phone because once a master lock is created there are no limitations to who or how the coding can be used.

The company on the forefront of this issue is Apple. After the tragic events in San Bernardino, CA on December 2, 2015, the United States FBI located an iPhone 5C belonging to one of the terrorists. The FBI, however, was unable to access the phone and formally requested Apple to unlock the device to facilitate the search for information about the killers. Apple swiftly refused and after several weeks of back and forth, the FBI filed a case against Apple (Nakashima April 2016). This case