Cell Phones and Privacy

Prepaid cellphones have started to be a big hit in recent times, do to the lack of ability for the government to track them. The problem with that is that criminals can use these phones to hide from law enforcement. I see that as a huge problem. When I think about why you would get a prepaid cell phone, the only reason that comes to my head is to hide from something and not be able to be tracked. They used to be a lot cheaper then normal cellphones, but now since they have grown popularity the companies have made them almost as expensive as normal cellphones. This makes me feel that maybe it would be smart to make people have to have their phones registered to be tracked. The reason I say this is because when I look at the pros and cons for this, the pros being the ability to know if someone was using their phone in a car accident, or if they were lost they could be tracked, with the cons being just that some people would not want the government to know where they are at all times even if they are not doing anything wrong. I feel the pros definitely out way the cons. It is not like the government can see what you are saying on the phone, or anything like that. It is strictly for purposes of tracking. If the government were to pass a law enforcing that everyone would have to register their phones to be tracked I would approve that, under the condition that they do not just see what peoples positions are for no reason. This tracking should only be used in certain circumstances when it is needed.

Location Tracking

Tracking animals has always been a popular thing to do. It is very simple you can just put a tracker on their collar or just put a little tag on them and you can always find them if they are lost. Recently there has been a lot of talk in whether or not parents should be allowed to do this to their children just in case they are lost. I believe this is right to a certain degree. When you are talking about young children, under 5, I do not think it is right for them to get a chip inserted in them. I would feel it would be intelligent to put some type of tracking devise in their clothing or something that they could wear like a bracelet or the great idea of putting it in their shoes. I think those are all good options. I think that the only time it would be appropriate to implant a chip in a human to track them would be if the person receiving the device gives consent to this happening. That kind of defeats the purpose of the tracking device though, since if the person has the sensibility to decide whether or not they want a tracking device implanted into them, they should be able to not get lost. I would thus say that chips should not be used unless consent is given. I would say this is one thing that the parent just cant decide that their child gets this chip, since it is not them receiving it, if they are that concerned about losing their child. Maybe they should pay better attention to their child or even to an extreme invest in a leash or harness. If there was a bill in congress, I would not support it because the government should not be able to decide what a child has to do. It could be very uncomfortable for some children to live with a chip in them, and I think their could be a lot better ways to approach this situation. I think the best possible solution would be GPS shoes, these are very simple and not harmful in anyway. This type of tracking is a great way to keep your elderly contain, and definitely a great way to keep track of your young children.

I am enrolled in CS 408, which is Living In A Networked World. This course talks about how our social networking has expanded so much and how far we have come in such a small period of time. This course is very interesting to me, since I am a business major I am interested in learning about networking and how communication has changed. As I get further into a career I would like to know how the time is gonna change. I need to make sure I am going to be prepared for what is going to come. I am hoping this course will expand my knowledge and I will be able to use this course throughout my life.