All American citizens are entitled to their privacy. It must be remembered, however, that any electronic privacy granted to citizens is also granted to who Singh calls the “Four Horsemen of the Infocalypse – drug dealers, organized crime, terrorists, and pedophiles”. Because of this, all citizens should be more than willing to give up a little privacy to protect their families, neighbors, friends, and all citizens.
CC image courtesy of Lunar New Year on Flickr
Imagine you have a child. Imagine they were being targeted by an online pedophile. This pedophile is making disgusting comments to your child and trying to persuade them to meet.If you are like most people, you would probably contact the police or do something similar in an attempt to catch this person that is targeting your child. Now imagine that the police tell you that there is nothing they can do about it at the moment because they are required to protect the electronic privacy of citizens.
Many proponents of electronic privacy are worried about what the government is reading of theirs. This is just evidence of the geocentricism of Americans. As scandalous of a life you think you lead, the government really doesn’t care unless you are plotting something that endangers the country. By insisting on your privacy to keep your gossip or your secret online relationship hidden, you’re stopping the government from potentially preventing mass shootings or terrorist attacks or even child abductions.
Leave a Reply