Jannuzi 1 Zoe Jannuzi Ms.

Shaw Language Arts 801 18 February 2014 How Much is Enough

We are in the 21st century. Our world is full of technology, and it continues to make a bigger impact on our lives. We know that. But there may be some aspects of technology you dont know much about. What if I told you that the government can track your cell phone and if you were to be arrested they could find evidence against you through it. What if I told you that the soon microchips may be implanted in everything from your shampoo bottles to your computer. Private corporations and the government have that technology, and are using it. In this essay Im going to detail why they shouldnt have the power to do this without the consent of the people, why there should be clear laws surrounding our privacy regarding such technologys, and what information the courts and the government should be allowed to access. We are already guaranteed to the right of privacy in the Constitution, are we not? Why does the government have the power to do this anyway? Why dont we know about it? Great questions that we have no answer to. As technology has improved the laws surrounding it haven't. People got really upset about the NSA, and what is to say more things arent going on like this all around our mation. In order to get support for the really good sides of the argument like helping innocent people get cleared in court cases, we need to let this be out in the open so people know exactly what is going on and have the power to stop it when it gets out of hand. We have a democracy and it should stay that way for everything, with the power going

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to the people not just a few high ranking officials.

Clear laws. Lots of laws have loopholes. Ways that give private industries and government officials the right to do illegal things without being caught. In order to relinquish some of our privacy we need to have clear laws surrounding the usage of it and who gets it. I dont know about you but if I give up my private information, I want it to be safeguarded with secure laws that wont let it be passed around with as much privacy as my cell phone number has.

Permission to who, for what? If giving up your cell phone information lets the court apprehend the right man instead of the wrong one, does that mean you should do it? Should you let the police take your measurements for a physical characteristics database? Some people argue that you shouldnt have anything to hide, and implanting a microchip here or there doesnt hurt, but would you want your kids irises scanned without your permission? Technology can be a resource, but that doesn't mean you have to use it for everything. I think that the government should only be able to take your information for purposes having to do with the law. When you give up that information it should be willingly and with clear laws surrounding the usage and privacy of the information. America is supposed to have the freedom of privacy. We should not let ourselves become a country where the government has all the power.

So how much privacy should we be willing to give up? I think the answer that question should be mostly individually based. I think that the courts should have access to cellphone records, but do you have to have a cellphone? I think that the information should be guarded carefully, and I think that the people should have a say in how much information we give up and what its used for. If all of those rules are followed I think that our privacy could have a more

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productive use for our people than sitting on our hard drives.

Wolinsky, Howard. "Tagging Products and People. Despite Much Controversy Radio Frequency Identification Chips Have Great Potential in Healthcare." US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health. PMC, 7 Oct. 2006. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.

Nakashima, Ellen. "FBI Prepares Vast Biometrics Database." N.p., n.d. Web. That's One of the Reasons Why a Growing Number of Schools Are Replacing Traditional Identification Cards with Iris Scanners. the Fall. "Iris Scans Are the NewT School IDs."CNNMoney. Cable News Network, 11 July 2013. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. Barnard, Anne. "Growing Presence in the Courtroom: CellPhone Data as Witness." The New York Times 6 July 2009: n. pag. Print. "Assembly Panel Backs Moratorium on Using ID Chips for School Kids." N.p., n.d. Web. 22 June 2006.