Ethics Assignment 4

For this assignment, I chose the article The Right to Privacy. Despite being written in the past, it is still relevant today. I believe the authors would side with Apple refusing to create tool/backdoor for their product. Such a tool would render be a breach in privacy as it effectively renders the security systems on the phones useless. In page 205 of The Right to Privacy, the authors states “-general right of the individual to be let alone. It is like the right not to be assaulted or beaten, the right not to be imprisoned, the right not to be maliciously prosecuted, the right not to be defamed.” The authors are comparing the right to privacy to basic rights. The creation of such a tool violates the Fourth Amendment which protects the rights of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures. The authors also state on page 207 “If we are correct in this conclusion, the existing law affords a principle which may be invoked to protect the privacy of the individual from invasion either by the too enterprising press, the photographer, or the possessor of any other modern device for recording or reproducing scenes or sounds.” In their time, they dealt with newspaper and photography, but that statement can apply for the government today as well.

That’s not to say the investigation of the shooting is not important. In page 214, the author state “To determine in advance of experience the exact line at which the dignity and convenience of the individual must yield to the demands of the public welfare or of private justice would be a difficult task”. The author also followed up with “The right to privacy does not prohibit any publication of matter which is of public or general interest.” In class, we mentioned that public figures essentially gives up their right to privacy. The perpetrators of this very public event do lose their rights to privacy, which allows for the investigation and publications of their persons and items.

So in conclusion, the FBI has the right to investigate the items and the perpetrators themselves, but not request for a backdoor into the iPhones. If the single phone itself was made vulnerable and not all the iPhones in existence, then I’m pretty sure the authors would agree. Breaching the phones of millions to investigate one may not be the “line” the authors are comfortable with.

References

http://www.english.illinois.edu/-people-/faculty/debaron/582/582%20readings/right%20to%20privacy.pdf

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/feb/19/apple-fbi-privacy-encryption-fight-san-bernardino-shooting-syed-farook-iphone

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/02/22/fbi-director-urges-apple-to-help-unlock-killers-iphone-in-passionate-statement-its-about-the-victims-and-justice/