Dear Future President,

As time goes on, we progress a step forward into a new form of technology every day. Whether that be from a new cell phone, gaming console, or computer, the innovations never seem to cease. People often assume that all of the newer tech will be better, safer, and reliable, but that’s not always the case. Over the last few years, hacking has increased in our lives through social media, businesses, and into our privacy. As this issue arises with the increased threat of our security, I still wonder if our online security from the government is invading our privacy without us even knowing.

Our privacy and safety of other people has been a need since the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution, but hackers are turning that need into something that we hope we have and desperately want. Over the last few years, hacking has become more of an issue of national, business, and public security. In Young Adults are Top Targets for Mobile Hackers, explains how teens and young adults are in danger of loosing their identity. Almost 1/3 of them have had their online accounts hacked alongside their personal and sensitive information. The number of online hacks is increasing and if we don’t do something about it, there’s no telling in what secureness we’ll have in our devices.

Alongside online hacking, our government does a good job of protecting it as much as they can, but we still don’t have privacy. Surveillance in Session reveals that the USA Freedom Act, which basically replaced the US Patriot Act, causes a lot of stress on both sides. The Freedom Act shows that it reorganized the Patriot Act (not replacing it and making it better) so government agencies have more ways of surveying people. Yes, the terrorist threat is there and yes, we need protection from it, but innocent people’s privacy should be kept to themselves if it doesn’t need to be seen to find someone that is a threat.

With the Freedom Act, the government is also limited on how much liberty it can take from people to make the security from threats at a low level. According to Amended; The Fourth Amendment, it gives a summary of the court case of Utah vs. Strieff. It shows that a man was arrested for a warrant by a traffic violation and was caught with possession of methamphetamine. He brought his case to the Supreme Court and was ruled out because the evidence of the drugs caused the arrest to happen. This kind of enforcement by the government shouldn’t be allowed on the streets to catch people. Many people’s privacy is at stake because an officer can simply make you show your ID and can search you if you have any violations what so ever.

Privacy has been such a big issue ever since human understood the value and security, but that also means that the government should help us keep it that way. Hacking could be stopped by another version of the Freedom or Patriot Act to help increase security, but also protect privacy; if the government can use a device of someone to survey others that are possible threats without invading privacy of a person if it’s not needed to catch them, then I see no problem in that kind of surveillance. With this idea, catching criminals and other harms to our society would be safer and more smiled upon by the bystanders who helped catch them. So as we continue our path to a better, safer, and more secure country, help us become more connected with each other so our trust in you is the best it can be.

Best of luck,

Sawyer Loger