Prepaid Phones Assignment 4

Prepaid cell phones can be very useful for certain markets. Certain people who do not use cell phones often can find these devices very useful. If one does not text message, use a large amount of data, or even make frequent phone calls, then prepaid phone are very practical. It would be senseless for a person to pay a large contract fee if he or she does not use the phone frequently. Prepaid phones are also very useful for people who struggle financially or have bad credit. The idea of prepaid phones being paid in cash is useful for this market because they can set an exact affordable amount and do not have to worry about any chance of a high monthly bill. One way prepaid phones can be managed by the government is to attach a name to the phone number when the phone is registered. Doing away with prepaid phones will not stop the communication of criminals; it will simply just force them to find new ways of unidentified communication. Prepaid phones should be permitted by the government because it is unfair for phone companies and people who use them for legitimate reasons.

Location Tracking Assignment Four

The proposal to implant computer tracking chips into young children proposes various possible privacy issues. If a child where to be planted with a tracking chip, their location and information could potentially be accessed by predators and kidnappers, increasing their safety risk immensely. Hacking is a growing privacy issue in today’s technology, so the potential risk of a predator hacking the chip information could be very probable. The chip also imposes the question of, does this cause infringement on a child’s personal privacy rights? Although this may not directly apply to young children under the age of five, teenagers may feel a sense of violation from their parents or guardians. This proposes the question of, what age is appropriate to deactivate the tracking device and who legislates this? Such questions, risks, and privacy rights cause a great deal of conflict and disagreement among people and their children, so I feel the risks and conflict outweigh the benefits by a long shot.

                If Congress were to require ID chips in young children, I would not support it. I feel such chips will eventually cause more harm than good, giving child predators and kidnappers a new way to harm and access young children. However I do support this concept with elderly people who suffer from a medical condition, such as Alzheimer’s. Such a chip could help and assist people in the medical field and their patients.

Welcome to The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Hello my name is Adriana Destefanis and I am a sophomore at the University of New Hampshire. I am taking the course, CS 408, that explores the internet and the implications it has on our society. This class helps analyze the consequences of certain technologies, along with their benefits. Stay tuned for future blog discussions and debates involving certain technologies in our society.