Carnivore: Chewing Through Our Right to Privacy :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

Carnivore: Chewing Through Our Right to Privacy The debate around Carnivore is not really about Carnivore itself. It is more of a debate of whether or not Carnivore oversteps current privacy laws and the Fourth Amendment. Carnivore is a software program that enables the FBI to filter and collect email on a subject of a court order to be used as evidence. The issue around Carnivore started when the ACLU and other such groups demanded a review of the system in 2000. Since then, there has been a Congressional review of Carnivore. The FBI believes that Carnivore is well within the bounds of the law and that such a system is necessary to fight crime on the Internet. Advocates of privacy such as the ACLU believe that Carnivore violates Fourth Amendment rights and that the FBI cannot be trusted not to abuse Carnivore. In return, the FBI believes that the public should trust the FBI with electronic surveillance. Basically, the debate around Carnivore is the FBI versus everyone else. Both sides of the Carnivore debate use mainly argument of definition to present their points. Since the integrity of the FBI has been called into question, the FBI’s argument for the use and need of Carnivore consists mainly of logos and ethos. Ethos is also used in order to build an image that the public can trust. Those who are against Carnivore use mainly pathos in their arguments to point out that Carnivore is a threat to personal privacy and that the FBI cannot be trusted. The FBI’s position on Carnivore is outlined in Donald M. Kerr’s congressional statement made before a Senate committee that was reviewing the FBI’s Carnivore system. As the Assistant Director of the Laboratory Division for the FBI, Kerr has extensive knowledge of the workings and capabilities of the Carnivore system. In his statement, Kerr makes five points ranging from what Carnivore is to why the public should trust the FBI with Carnivore. Kerr explains that because terrorists, spies, hackers, and criminals used computers and the Internet, the FBI needs a tool like Carnivore to counter them. Another reason the FBI feels that they need Carnivore is to combat information warfare, fraud, and the spread of child pornography on the Internet. Logos in the form of statistics and examples is used to show that there has been an increased use of the Internet for criminal activity. Carnivore: Chewing Through Our Right to Privacy :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays Carnivore: Chewing Through Our Right to Privacy The debate around Carnivore is not really about Carnivore itself. It is more of a debate of whether or not Carnivore oversteps current privacy laws and the Fourth Amendment. Carnivore is a software program that enables the FBI to filter and collect email on a subject of a court order to be used as evidence. The issue around Carnivore started when the ACLU and other such groups demanded a review of the system in 2000. Since then, there has been a Congressional review of Carnivore. The FBI believes that Carnivore is well within the bounds of the law and that such a system is necessary to fight crime on the Internet. Advocates of privacy such as the ACLU believe that Carnivore violates Fourth Amendment rights and that the FBI cannot be trusted not to abuse Carnivore. In return, the FBI believes that the public should trust the FBI with electronic surveillance. Basically, the debate around Carnivore is the FBI versus everyone else. Both sides of the Carnivore debate use mainly argument of definition to present their points. Since the integrity of the FBI has been called into question, the FBI’s argument for the use and need of Carnivore consists mainly of logos and ethos. Ethos is also used in order to build an image that the public can trust. Those who are against Carnivore use mainly pathos in their arguments to point out that Carnivore is a threat to personal privacy and that the FBI cannot be trusted. The FBI’s position on Carnivore is outlined in Donald M. Kerr’s congressional statement made before a Senate committee that was reviewing the FBI’s Carnivore system. As the Assistant Director of the Laboratory Division for the FBI, Kerr has extensive knowledge of the workings and capabilities of the Carnivore system. In his statement, Kerr makes five points ranging from what Carnivore is to why the public should trust the FBI with Carnivore. Kerr explains that because terrorists, spies, hackers, and criminals used computers and the Internet, the FBI needs a tool like Carnivore to counter them. Another reason the FBI feels that they need Carnivore is to combat information warfare, fraud, and the spread of child pornography on the Internet. Logos in the form of statistics and examples is used to show that there has been an increased use of the Internet for criminal activity.