Discussion topic/Question

Your life is somewhere in a database

Many TV shows depict law enforcement personnel accessing readily accessible databases that contain all types of records about individuals -records about everything from address to telephone records to finances, insurance, and criminal history. The information you share with your bank, doctor, insurance agent, the TSA, ancestry kit companies, and on social media can make your life an open book. Here are some questions to address as you reflect on this: 1. Are you comfortable with giving away some of your privacy for increased security? Why or why not? How far would you let the government go in examining people's private lives? 2. How much access should we have to certain aspects of others' private lives? For example, should States share criminal databases? But should a database of people paroled or released for crimes be made public? Why or why not?

Peer's Discussion Post

Hello,

How much privacy am I willing to sacrifice for safety?

As a law-abiding citizen, I have no problem with the fact that to increase security, some level of privacy has to be sacrificed. I think that for the sake of society, it is necessary to allow security interventions to fight crime or other threats. Since I have nothing to hide, I do not think such measures threaten my civil rights. I consider it a reasonable compromise - my privacy is not invaded but shifted to increase public safety. Further, there is awareness that privacy is valuable, but the security of the public supersedes it. I am confident that security measures are designed to ensure society's safety and avoid causing harm, not to punish law-abiding citizens. Nevertheless, this does not mean that privacy should be ignored entirely; there must be some reasonable limits to avoid the violation of people's rights. Ultimately, as long as security measures are correctly applied and checked for, a certain level of privacy can be compromised for a safer and more stable society.

References:

Kerr, O. S. (2018). The Fourth Amendment and the global Internet.Stanford Law Review, 70(3), 603-678. https://www.stanfordlawreview.org/print/article/the-fourth-amendment-and-the-global-internet/

Solove, D. J. (2008). Understanding privacy. Harvard University Press.

Respond to the "Peer's Discussion Post" above in not more than three paragraphs, agree or disagree, your responds must be supported byrelevant information. Prove the point you are making by a) citingexternal research, b) citing readings from the class content, or c) providing examples or personal experiences that are relevant and support your position on the topic. It is always better to begin your reflection on the topic by doing some research/reading, either a) or b) or both, before considering personal experience. Ask a question to further the discussion.