Essay writing practice Title: Should communications and tech companies hand over customers’ private information to Governments or law enforcement agencies? • • • What are some reasons to say yes? What information should the government have access to? What is off-limits? What are the reasons to say no? Are there any risks in saying no? Introduction Start with real-life example. Explain briefly what happened here. https://www.wired.com/story/the-time-tim-cook-stood-his-ground-against-fbi/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FBI%E2%80%93Apple_encryption_dispute Example introduction: • Use real-life example such as the case here. Summarize it and mention the relevant points (FBI and Apple). • Describe the main idea of your essay here. What points will you mention? In December 2015, two terrorists killed 14 people and wounded 22 others in San Bernardino, California. Afterwards, the FBI found an Apple Iphone belonging to one of the shooters. The phone was protected by a password, so the data inside could not be accessed. The FBI asked Apple to unlock the phone, but Apple refused because they believed protecting the privacy of its customers was more important. The issue of consumer privacy versus law enforcement is very divisive. Many people disagree about how much of our private information should be given to government agencies like the FBI, or the police. What is more important? Privacy or national security? Now write your introduction. Use the example above as a template. Body Here you go into detail. Use the arguments in the book (3.4) as your material. Organize into pros and cons. Use a phrase like this to open: Example Body phrases- part 1 • • • Although many people value their privacy, some might argue that there are sometimes good reasons for governments to access our information. For example……….. Let’s begin by examining the arguments against governments and law enforcement agencies accessing our private information… While it is important that we keep our country safe against such danger, it is also important that we consider the risk of Governments spying on citizens.. Example Body phrases- part 2 • • • Despite the arguments mentioned in favor of national security over the rights of citizens to protect our information, the opposite viewpoints are also very important. For example.. So, does this mean that governments should never be allowed to access the data on our devices? Some people may argue that there are times when it is necessary. For example… Let’s turn our attention to the arguments in favor of …. Summarize the points in the book (page 202-203) into for/against. Conclusion Remember to summarize the key arguments. Add your own question or statement of your opinion. Use a phrase such as: in conclusion, to conclude, ultimately, in summary, to sum up, all in all, all things considered. EXAMPLE Ultimately, despite the strong arguments that keeping our information private is our basic right as free citizens, the evidence above shows that serious crimes can be prevented if law enforcement agencies have access to information. In my opinion, this is a price worth paying because if we have nothing to hide, why should we worry?
