Fayzan Ahmed									        3/21/16
Government										       Period 3

					 Encryption Essay

	Law enforcement access to encrypted cell phones will affect individual privacy.  Encryption is the most effective way to keep data secured.  Without it, data would simply be shown as plain text and not be secured in any way.  It is only because of encryption that Apple is able to put that data into a form of code that cannot be read without a specific key or password.  The government has recently demanded that Apple take an unprecedented step towards compromising the privacy that it gives to its customers in exchange for being able to improve our national security.  While I can see the reasoning behind this, I strongly disagree with the demand.  Removing encryption from data may reduce the likelihood of successful terrorist attacks on our country, but it also imposes new dangers that we must consider when making this decision.

	The FBI should not be given access to encrypted cell phones. Smartphones have become an essential part of our lives.  They are used to store various amounts of personal information, including, but not limited to, personal conversations, photos, media, financial and medical information, even our locations and destinations.  We need that information to be secured in order to prevent criminals from stealing and using it without our knowledge or consent.  With all sorts of personal information being decrypted, what will be keeping us protected from our own people?  By compromising the security of our personal information, we would be jeopardizing our general safety.  This is something that I strongly believe should never be a cost.

	The strongest argument that the opposing side makes is that privacy should no longer be in question when our national security is in danger.  Though our national security is definitely something invaluable, the demand that the government is making comes at the cost of other things that are invaluable as well; our privacy and some of our basic rights.  Allowing law enforcement access to encrypted cell phones would improve our ability to handle one danger, while reducing our ability to handle another.  Frankly, I believe that keeping our people as secure as we can from criminals in our own country is more important than dealing with those that come from outside of the United States.  If we’re to compromise some of our safety one way or another, I much rather it not be the part of our security that has a more direct impact on everyday life.  What good does it do us to take additional measures against outside threats, if we are only going to make our situation worse from the inside?

	In conclusion, the government really needs to reconsider what is more important for our country.  We may need to take further action against terrorism, but it should never come at the cost of potentially harming our own people.  By going through with the government’s demands, we essentially could be doing to our people the same thing that terrorists look to do; kill them.  There is no sense in trying to protect ourselves from terrorists when we really just get put into an even more dangerous situation in the process.  Encryption is one of the most effective methods that allow us to protect ourselves, and it must stay.