The Snitch in Your Pocket

The Snitch in Your Pocket Response

Cell phones, without a doubt, contain data on every part of our lives. With our cellphone, one can determine what kind of person we are, what we search for, what food we like, where we have been, who we keep in contact with, and more. Although the government is only limited to tracking what we do on our tech devices, these devices are a portal to our personal lives, and leaves us vulnerable if it were ever in the wrong hands. 

Because of the type of government we live under, the information in our cellphone is not private, it can be accessed by someone in position of power so long as the person knows how to access the data. Michael Isikoff’s article, “The Snitch in Your Pocket” gives reader’s insight on what kind of information the government can access, more important, location data tracking. In the article, Isikoff provides various scenarios in which cell phones companies, such as Sprint, gave the government location data on it’s customers without a legitimate warrant being presented. The information provided by Isikoff brings up a very important question: What can the government do with the data collected, and are we giving the US government too much power over us?

It’s scary, to think that the government keeps records of where we have been and where we currently are. In my opinion, it’s ok that the government has the ability to track where we have been, but only when a proper warrant is provided. Such information might prove useful when used with a criminal investigation. This information however, must only be provided when a proper warrant is filed, if not, we are giving the government too much power. As of now, the information that a government can access it limited, but there is a concern that if this routine continues, the citizens of the United States may face a bigger issue later on when the government starts tracking every single thing that a person does without the need for a cellphone or some sort of tech device being present.