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Nadiah Rayyes

Professor Hughes
English 1101
12 April 2016
Smile: Uncle Sam Has Eyes on You
Everything you do with the tips of your fingers through your phone is absolute
public to our government. Of course, with your permission.. At least that is what we
would like to think, right? There are plenty of legal ways for law enforcement, from the
local sheriff to the FBI to the Internal Revenue Service, to snoop on the digital trails you
create everyday, claims Theodoric Meyer. Behind the legal framework and its power, the
government can access stuff information like phone records, location data, IP addresses,
emails (that were sent months ago), social medias, and text messages.
Authorities can often acquire your emails and texts by going to Google or your
phone carrier with a court order that doesn't require showing probable cause of a crime
(Meyer). It takes that little of an effort to obtain personal information. If this is the
situation then why dont we know about it? Well, higher authority can do this because of
the 1979 Supreme Court case Smith v. Maryland. Smith v. Maryland presents the
installation and use of the pen register is not a "search" within the meaning of the Fourth
Amendment, and hence no warrant is required (Smith v. Maryland). The article
United States v. New York Telephone CO indicates that a pen register is a mechanical
device that records the numbers dialed on a telephone by monitoring the electrical
impulses caused when the dial on the telephone is released. It does not overhear oral
communications and does not specify whether calls are actually completed. Therefore,

this is why court orders in some states are not needed. However, the Fourth Amendment
is in place to ensure that we have personal privacy. The Cornell University Law School
notes that, the ultimate goal of this amendment is to protect peoples right to privacy and
freedom from arbitrary governmental interferences. Private incursions not acting in the
color of governmental authority are exempted from the Fourth Amendment.
As of 2015, Forbes ranks Apple #1 Worlds Most Valuable Brands. The people
have spoken, but why is Apple #1? For it is successful in promoting, upgrading, and
selling its products to you. Not only that, Apple is also a company who believes in
personal privacy! On February 16, 2016 Apple wrote a letter to their customers. The
reason: the U.S. government has asked Apple for something the company considers too
dangerous to create. The government has asked Apple to build a backdoor to the iPhone.
Specifically, the FBI wants us to make a new version of the iPhone operating system,
circumventing several important security features, and install it on an iPhone recovered
during the investigation. In the wrong hands, this software (which does not exist today)
would have the potential to unlock any iPhone in someones physical possession. The
FBI may use different words to describe this tool, but make no mistake: Building a
version of iOS that bypasses security in this way would undeniably create a backdoor.
And while the government may argue that its use would be limited to this case, there is
no way to guarantee such control. (Apple, 2016). In Apples letter to their customers
they go into detail, explaining the dangerous precedent. If every company operated the
same as Apple does for their customers how much harder would it be for higher authority
to access personal information?

There are devastating events that have occurred in the United States for the past
decade and so on. Like 9/11, school shootings, the San Bernardino shooting, and etc. In
scenarios like these, the government and all authority receive access towards information
they need.

I NEED HELP! On this paragraph I am trying to claim the positive side of government
access but this is where I am having trouble. I tried to google documents as well and most
are just facts about how it happens why, etc I also still need a conclusion but, ill work
on that after your help and feedback.

Nadiah
This is certainly a topical issue and an important one to discuss. In fact,
I encourage you to make that point more prominent in your essay. I
recommend beginning by telling the story of Apple and the San
Bernadino shooter or otherwise showing why this debate is so dicey.
Heres my feedback for your final draft:
Most importantly, you should not claim anything in this essay. You
should simply articulate what each side believes. For example, you
should say Proponents of end-to-end encryption argue and Critics
of end-to-end encryption believe so that you are not proposing the
argumentsthey are.
Here are some articles that articulate arguments against end-to-end
encryption:
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/02/23/hasencryption-gone-too-far/a-lack-of-cooperation-between-techgiants-and-the-us-on-encryption-makes-us-less-secure

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwoway/2015/07/08/421251662/fbi-director-says-agents-needaccess-to-encrypted-data-to-preserve-public-safety
http://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/lessons-fromapple-versus-the-f-b-i

Dont forget to add the Works Cited page.


You also need to discuss the points of overlapwhat do the two sides
agree? Then you should propose a compromise: how can we keep our
citizens safe while also respecting their right to privacy? Wheres the
middle ground?
See marginal comments for details.
If you have any questions as you write and revise, please dont
hesitate to contact me. I look forward to reading your final draft!

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