Why Security Keeps Winning Out Over Privacy: A Detailed Report

This report analyzes the ongoing debate of security versus privacy, focusing on the arguments presented in the article "Why security keeps winning out over Privacy." The report discusses the fundamental importance of both security and privacy, highlighting the need for a balanced approach. It examines various arguments, including the all-or-nothing fallacy, deference argument, pendulum argument, and war-powers argument, as well as the Luddite argument. The article explores how technological advancements and societal factors influence the balance between these two critical aspects of modern life. It also addresses the role of the legal system, the impact of digital society, and the ethical dilemmas involved, concluding that a balance is essential despite the benefits and drawbacks of technological advancements. The report emphasizes the importance of protecting individual privacy while acknowledging the need for security measures. The report highlights the informative nature of the article, and the need to critically evaluate the arguments presented to arrive at an informed conclusion regarding the balance between security and privacy.

Running head: WHY SECURITY KEEPS WINNING OUT OVER PRIVACY
Why security keeps winning out over privacy
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1WHY SECURITY KEEPS WINNING OUT OVER PRIVACY
Introduction:
Security and Privacy both are vitally important and are an integral part of ay successful
society. The balance between the both the fundamentally important aspects of any individual’s
life need to be attained at any cost. Privacy is basically the state or the condition of being free
from being observed by other people. It also refers to the freedom with which a person can
indulge in one’s likes and dislikes without facing any sort of interference. Security is basically
defined as the state of being free from any sort of danger or threat. Often it so happens, that both
the terms are interchanged and due to these cases are misinterpreted.
Introduction to the discussed article:
The present article “Why security keeps winning out over Privacy” is related to the
discussion on the different arguments related to the preference of privacy over security. The
ethical dilemma is real regarding which we need to value the most. The vendors and the
technological firms also have a responsibility of protecting their customers’ data.
Summary of the article:
In the provided article different arguments and theories pertaining to the topic of Security
and privacy have been discussed. In connection to the safety and security measures, the all-or-
nothing fallacy has been discussed which mentions that many people think that privacy needs to
be completely given up in order to ensure their security. However this should not be the case and
privacy should not lose out to security and it should be balanced and the convenience of the
government needs to be adjusted.

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The deference argument as mentioned in the article states that the evaluation of the
security measures by the security proponents should involve the court. There needs to be a
responsibility of the courts to balance the privacy against the security. The level of the security
provided needs to be evaluated at all times (Phillips & Bostian, 2011, p 499).
Another argument that has been mentioned in this connection is the pendulum argument.
This basically refers to the fact that the moments of crisis are majorly related to the compromises
on an individual’s privacy. This argument states that once the situation in a particular country
gets back o normal and the tension reduces, the privacy issue is solved and there is no sort of
encroachment on a person’s personal space (Phillips & Bostian, 2011, p 499)
The war-powers argument mentions the fact that the wiretapping of the phone calls needs
to be managed properly as the weight of this task is huge. The president has virtually unlimited
power but the proper utilisation of power is necessary. The legal system needs to be properly
devised so that the price of privacy w3hich the citizens have to pay is genuine. In cases when a
rule of law is ignored it will be extremely terrifying.
The Luddite argument has been discussed in the article. It has been stated that the privacy
proponents are basically Luddites who are afraid of new technology. New technologies like
biometric identification are favoured by government officials. Biometric identification allows
people to be recognised by their physical characteristics like fingerprint, eye pattern and so on
but often these technologies are not fully mature (Phillips & Bostian, 2011, p 500).
Despite the technology having promise, the entire amount of dependency on the software
or the technological device is not good as the loss of data might lead to be in a totally negative
situation without any sort of information at hand. Another benefit of the present system of

3WHY SECURITY KEEPS WINNING OUT OVER PRIVACY
identification is that the data is leaked a person can solve this particular issue but the chance of
the personal information getting leaked is always there. There is considerable significance in the
arguments against the records of private information being in the hands of the government. There
is a certain amount of risk involved in the access of extremely personal information. The
protection of the privacy of the people is the responsibility of the government and need to be
maintained at all times.
There exists a plethora of opinions regarding the topic of privacy and security. Many
people believe that the terrorist attacks and the issues of national security are more important
than the privacy of the individuals which is not entirely wrong. However privacy is also a
fundamental right of every individual which needs to be provided at all costs. The interferences
in the personal communication is likely to lead to widespread protests on behalf of the public
(Phillips & Bostian, 2011, p 500).
Apart from the telecommunication tapping and other aspects of personal contact, the
social networking sites also leads to the sharing of almost majority of personal information of
those individual who are a part of social networking sites. This leads to the conclusion of three
major facts namely the digital society where everything is registered leaves very less room for
personal secrets. Secondly majority of the people are not bothered about the informational
privacy regarding any of their personal matters. Finally the greater interests of the nation with
regard to the prevention of the terrorist attacks and also discouraging the organised crime are
thought to be much more important than the privacy interests of the people.
Nature of the article:

4WHY SECURITY KEEPS WINNING OUT OVER PRIVACY
The article is primarily informative by nature. The different arguments which have been
discussed in the article have a characteristic of logos in a small percentage as very few facts have
been mentioned. The article has ethos in the sense that the author’s description clearly shows that
he has proper knowledge and expertise regarding the topic of security and privacy. Finally it can
be said that the article possesses sufficient amount of pathos in the sense that it not only
possesses emotional appeal but also discusses the relevant theories and concepts with proper
examples all of which are related to the topic (Phillips & Bostian, 2011, p 276-77, p 284-86).
Conclusion:
The article is informative but is not persuasive as the author aims to inform the readers
about the issue of privacy and security in connection to the technological advancement. It puts
forward the different theories and facts and does not aim to put forward any particular idea. The
article however allows the reader to choose any conclusion for him or her.
As a conclusion it can be clearly stated that the advances in technology come with both
benefits as well as drawbacks. While it is extremely important in providing the connectivity all
round the clock and also responsible for the benefits of having everything at one’s fingertips, the
drawbacks like the continuous tapping of one’s personal communication need to be accepted as
well. However the best policy in light of all this is trying to achieve a sort of balance between
both.

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References:
Phillips, H., & Bostian, P. (2011). The purposeful argument: A practical guide. Cengage
Learning.
Solove, D. (2011). Why “security” keeps winning out over privacy.