Privacy, Apple, and the FBI

In light of the situation involving Apple and the FBI, which you have undoubtedly heard about in the news, we're going to shift our intended plans and we'll discuss privacy this week.

Already, LeLion Noir and Reverend Cyan have had an interesting dialogue on this topic.

Here are some useful artifacts on the case.

Apple CEO Tim Cook's letter to customers

"FBI director makes personal, passionate plea...." Washington Post

"Apple's encryption battle with the FBI has implications..." The Guardian

Fight for the Future press release

Please read all of the above artifacts.

Here are the two articles we were originally going to read for our unit on privacy.  These are classic works on the subject, both from the 20th century.

The Right to Privacy

Why Privacy is Important

Select ONE of the above two articles (The Right to Privacy or Why Privacy is Important).  Read it thoroughly.  Consider: if the author(s) were alive today, and they encountered the Apple/FBI case, what would they think?  Write a description of what you think the author(s) would think, with specific references to the article you have chosen, and also with specific references to the above artifacts or other relevant artifacts on this emerging case.

Please write this up in a post of 250-400 words, which you should post to the blog by 9pm on Monday, February 29.  This post counts twice as much as any previous post when it comes to your final grade.