The issue of privacy is important and is even protected by the constitution. The government doesn't have any right to curtail or interfere with an individual’s privacy, unless in exceptional circumstances when the privacy has information relating to national security (Cate & H, F. 818). The primary objective of the government is the protection of its citizens even when at times unconventional methods have to be applied. The privacy of an individual doesn’t hold water when matters of national security come into play.
The technological world has made tremendous developments and the technology of encryption is being applied by phone manufacturing companies such as Apple. In the recent case in San Bernadino shooting where 14 people lost their life, in an inhumane act committed by Syed Rizwan Farook. The shootings led to the untimely death of American lives who were a great contribution to the American dream (The Buffalo News). The killer owned an iPhone manufactured by Apple with encryption technology implemented in the device. The judiciary failed to compel Apple to assist the FBI in decrypting the phone.
In my opinion, I agree with Buffalo news, in that the government should do more in legislation to be able to protect the interests of the public in such incidents. The boundaries on where privacy stops about national security should be clearly defined. The methods to use to compel any organization to assist with the investigation with technology it has created should also be defined. In the case of a similar case the reluctance by a private organization in a bid to protect their secret agendas from impeding the justice process. The constitution should be clear in the due process the FBI, judiciary and the concerned organization should take to solve the case at hand.
Works Cited
The Buffalo News. "Congress Needs to Step in on Encryption Debate." Congress Needs to Step in on Encryption Debate. The Buffalo News, 4 Apr. 2016. Web. 26 Apr. 2016
Cate, & H, F. (2014). The big data debate. Science 346.6211, 818.
