The file is attached. An Introduction and Conclusion is needed.
• Begin the response with your personal ethical statement • Prepare a response to the following scenarios and demonstrate how your choices relate to your personal ethical statement. • Your response should be at around 500 to 750 words for this scenario. • Present your ideas in the format of a paper (rather than the Q&A format) The FBI & Apple Security vs. Privacy https://ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu/ca se -study/fbi -apple -security -vs -privacy In December 2015, the FBI attained the iPhone of one of the shooters in an ISIS -inspired terrorist attack that killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California. As part of the investigation, the FBI attempted to gain access to the data stored on the phone but was unable to penetrate its encryption software. Lawyers for the Obama administration approached Apple for assistance with unlocking the device, but negotiations soon broke down. The Justice Department then o btained a court order compelling Apple to help the FBI unlock the phone. Apple CEO, Timothy Cook, publicly challenged the court in an open letter, sparking an intense debate over the balance between maintaining national security and protecting user privacy . Apple and its supporters, including top technology companies such as Google and Facebook, made the case on several fronts that the court order threatened the privacy of all individuals . First, according to Apple, the order effectively required the compan y to write code, violating its First Amendment right to free speech by forcing the company to “say” something it did not want to say. Previous court cases had already established computer code as legally protected speech. Second, such a backdoor, once crea ted, could fall into the wrong hands and threaten the privacy of all iPhone owners. Finally, it would set a dangerous precedent; law enforcement could repeatedly require businesses such as Apple to assist in criminal investigations, effectively making tech nology companies an agent of government. Representatives from both sides of the political aisle offered several arguments in favor of the Justice Department’s efforts and against Apple’s stance. Their central claim was that the U.S. legal system establishe s constraints on the government’s access to private information which prevent abuse of search and surveillance powers. At the same time, the law still allows authorities to gain access to information that facilitates prevention and prosecution of criminal activities, from terrorism to drug trafficking to child pornography . Critics of Apple also rejected the slippery slope argument on the grounds that, if Apple cooperated, it could safeguard the code it created and keep it out of the hands of others, includi ng bad actors such as terrorists or criminal groups. Moreover, Apple was accused of being too interested in protecting its brand, and even unpatriotic for refusing to comply with the court order . Ultimately, the FBI dropped the case because it was able to circumvent the encryption on the iPhone without Apple’s help. Discussion Questions 1. Who are the stakeholders regarding this case? 2. What harms are potentially produced by the FBI’s demand that Apple help it open an iPhone? What harms are potentially produced by Apple’s refusal to help the FBI? 3. Do you think Apple had a moral obligation to help the FBI open the iPhone in this case because it involved terrorism and a mass shooting? Explain your reasoning. 4. Apple argued that helping to op en one iPhone would produce code that could be used to make private information on all iPhones vulnerable, not only to the American government but also to other foreign governments and criminal elements. Do you agree with Apple’s “slippery slope” argument? 5. Ultimately, the FBI gained access to the iPhone in question without the help of Apple. Should the FBI share information on how it opened the iPhone with Apple so that it can patch the vulnerability? Explain your reasoning. Bibliography Apple Fights Order to Unlock San Bernardino Gunman’s iPhone http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/18/technology/apple -timothy -cook -fbi -san -bernardino.html How they line up on Apple vs. the FBI https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/business/fbi -apple/ Why Apple Is Right to Challenge an Order to Help the F.B.I. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/19/opinion/why -apple -is-right -to-chal lenge -an -order -to-help -the – fbi.html Apple’s Rotten Core: CEO Tim Cook’s Case for Not Aiding the FBI’s Antiterror Effort Looks Worse than Ever http://www.wsj.com/articles/apples -rott en -core -1456696736 Obama, at South by Southwest, Calls for Law Enforcement Access in Encryption Fight http://www.nytimes .com/2016/03/12/us/politics/obama -heads -to-south -by -southwest -festival -to-talk – about -technology.html U.S. Says It Has Unlocked iPhone Without Apple http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/29/technology/apple -iphone -fbi -justice -department -case.html Evaluation The following rubric indicates the criteria students are to adhere to, and their relative weights to the assignment overall. Activity/Competencies Demonstrated % of Final Grade Content /60 Articulated personal ethical statement /15 Identified the key issues in the scenarios /15 Described and presented arguments supporting the decisions made /15 Identified how the decisions relate to the personal ethical statement /15 Communication /30 Uses language clearly and effectively /10 Information organized intelligently and holistically (i.e. not simply answers to questions) /10 Proper introduction and conclusion to the paper /10 Attention to Detail /10 APA formatting (title, headings & references) /10 Total /100