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Is privacy more important than safety
Is privacy more important than safety
Is privacy more important than safety
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Ever since 9-11, we as a country have been divided on many issues. One of the most discussed considers the question of whether retaining our privacy is more important than ensuring our safety. The two texts I will be using to explore this question are: Mobile Phone Tracking Scrutinized by Nikki Swartz Published in the Information Journal, which bills it’s self as “the leading source of information on topics central to the management of records and information worldwide”(347), in March/April 2006 and Reach Out and Track Someone by the author Terry Allen which appeared in the May 2006 edition of In These Times, a publication “dedicated to informing and analyzing popular movements for social environmental and economic justice”(347). In Swartz’s article, she delves into the many ways that law enforcement agencies use signals emitted by cell phones to easily and secretly track the movements of suspects(347). Swartz’s elaborates on this by writing that even if the phone is turned off, it still communicates with the tower, allowing cell phone companies to track the phones position. Swartz explores the scrutiny with which the use of these cell phone tracking logs have come under, acknowledging that the proponents of using the logs for law enforcement cite the Patriot act while the opposition argues for the fourth amendment protection against unreasonable searches. In Allen’s article, he warns us of the presence of “Big Brother”(348) lurking in the Verizon horde. Allen states that we are all tracked by “Pings”(349) that triangulate one’s whereabouts. He further alerts us to the “dragnet surveillance” (349)being diverted into the NSA at what he claims is on a wholesale level. Allen further elaborates on the real time dangers of cell... ... middle of paper ... ... to serve us and we should be informed so that we may guide them. Lastly, we must not be so afraid of the world and the dangers in it that we give up our rights to privacy and our dignity. We must find a way to balance the two, and realize that we can never be safe from all threats, just safer. Works cited Valdez 1 Works Cited Swartz, Nikki. “Mobil Phone Tracking Scrutinized.” Information Management Journal Mar./ Apr. 2006. Print. The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing. pg. 347-50 2009 fifth edition. Print. Allen, J. Terry. “Reach Out and Track Somebody” In These Times May 2006. The Allyn & bacon Guide to Writing. 348-350. 2009 fifth edition. Print