Write Research paper (1500 words)

Shaikh

Your Name: Mohmmed Ashad

Supervisor Name: Kimzey McGrath

Course Name: ESL151

Due Date:

Tech giants should be required to Help law enforcement

to gain access to consumer data.

Personal privacy concerns have developed considerably in America. It has been a

controversial issue for a Decade if tech giants are supposed to

assist current law enforcement in conducting searches and gain access to consumer data. The

controversial debate is said to have given the United

States Attorney General pressure on Facebook to hold back from introducing end-to-end

encryption (Stephan, 2017). The government does not have central authority over the

information tech companies have on user data.

First, technology Companies should help current law enforcement gain access to

consumer data because it would help law enforcement agencies fight against crime. If the

law enforcement agencies have access to consumer data, they can track

down some vital information required for investigation. For instance, the FBI had

asked Apple to help them unlock two iPhones that belonged to a man named Mohammed Saeed

Alshamiani, who believed to have killed three people in Florida. The request has been the first

since a battle between technical giants and law enforcement on a handset used by a gunman

(Etzioni, 2018). However, the efforts to convince them became fatal, and the investigators found

an ethical hacker who could hack into the phone. The world

moved on, and encryption became a standard component for many customer products and

services.

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Furthermore, the question of whether technology companies are supposed to be allowed

exceptional access or backdoor access to law enforcement has become a subject for

courts, legislators, or both.

However, it has become a solid case to require technology companies to create

backdoors or assist the current law enforcement in the united states and other advanced law-

based agencies into breaking into people’s phones or messages on representing a court

order (Wolfson and Levy, 2020). The charge of making end-to-end encryption may be an

opportunity for organized crime, child abuse, and terrorist groups. Most researchers report

that it complicates the issue more than solving it because it undermines security

agents’ ability to protect society from harm. Furthermore, it is best if some careful considerations

should be placed to achieve all of this. Verified encryption is beneficial For protecting

consumers and Data From Hackers and cybercriminals who aim to steal and misuse data. The

accessibility

of any backdoor options becomes prone to cybercriminals, hackers, or foreign governments that

are autocratic. Backdoor existence in the access of data is an invitation of

hacker groups or suspicious security businesses linked to intelligence agencies and develop ways

to exploit it, and many marketed to whoever would pay. For example, A software that was

created by an

Israeli company to exploit a vulnerability in WhatsApp demonstrated the market for private

spying apps.

Moreover, if the tech companies should be required to help the current law enforcement in

the United States gain access to consumer data legally, Middle Eastern countries, China or

Russia would as well demand that companies should grant them similar access which when

given they would use to target political opponent or face Restriction from doing business

(Graef, Clifford, and Valcke, 2018). A software that was created by an

Israeli company to exploit a vulnerability in WhatsApp demonstrated the market for private

spying apps.

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Finally, it is crucial if the relations between the tech

companies and the law enforcement agencies do not become adversarial. In the meantime, apple

guards the privacy of its handsets closely, and it cooperates in sharing data on servers like

the cloud, too, just like in the case of the Florida Shooting. Operations such as these have to be

enhanced.

During court or legislative decisions on whether or not encryption Penetrated, they

should consider an individual’s rights to privacy. Considering the digital era, some liberal

values that were developed in the old times should be protected more than ever. In today’s

current world of law, end-to-end encryption fully destabilizes the essential judicial process on

consumer data. Moreover, a permit may be issued for data kept in iCloud. Still, as long as

the suspect refuses to cooperate, the authorities or the police could not seize the data that

they were lawfully entitled to hold as part of their investigation process. Not only does this

apply to law enforcement, but also the process of discovering evidence at the beginning of the

trial could as well be weakened. Unfortunately, a judiciary that has no access to evidence is not

fair or just.

In conclusion, there are advantages and disadvantages as to whether tech giants

should be required to help law enforcement gain access to consumer data. Consumer data

is critical, and for anyone to access it, they have to consider a person’s right to privacy

whether the person is guilty or not. Giving access to law enforcement agencies may be a

good and easier way to fight against crime, but at the same time, it may be a breach of individual

privacy (Kim, Wagman, and Wickelgren,2019).

References

Etzioni, A. (2018). Apple: Good business, poor citizen? Journal of Ethics, 151(1), 1-11.

Graef, I., Clifford, D., & Valcke, P. (2018). Fairness and enforcement: bridging

competition,

data protection and consumer law. International Data Privacy , 8(3), 200-223.

Kim, J. H., Wagman, L., & Wickelgren, A. L. (2019). The impact of access to consumer

data on

the competitive effects of horizontal mergers and exclusive dealing.

Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, 28(3), 373-391.

Stephan, K. (2017). Apple Versus the Feds: How a smartphone stymied the FBI. IEEE Consumer

Wolfson, B., & Levy, L. (2020). Impenetrable: Should Apple backdoor the iPhone?