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The Importance Of Online Privacy

Decent Essays

In the United States 84% of Americans have access to the internet (Perrin and Duggan) and 77% of Americans own a smartphone (Smith). The online world is growing with every upload, comment, and text, but with this growth comes concerns over the privacy of the information we are putting online. Technology has broadened our social horizons, but it has also pushed people to share personal information with the unseen masses. Who should have access your personal information and why? If information regarding a serious crime is being protected by our personal device, should law enforcement be granted access? Our personal devices serve as a mask to hide behind, which leads us to step outside the scope of what is morally acceptable. As our reliance on personal devices grows, so does our expectation of our right to total online privacy, however complete protection of privacy denies the U.S. justice system of its ability to effectively do its job. Our day to day lives revolve around technology. Our phones are often the first thing we look at in the mornings and the last thing we look at before we go to bed. We use them throughout the day to hold personal conversations, share pictures and thoughts on social media, and to browse the internet, furthermore we expect that this information will be kept from prying eyes. "There are, after all, some downsides to privacy. For example, the ability to control information about oneself can also enable dishonesty and hypocrisy " (Defining Privacy).

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