Although, some believe that governments accessing its citizen’s phones call records and messages are advantageous to keep locals safe, I believe that this is an invasion of privacy and should not be done so without permission from the individual.
On one hand, governments should be allowed access to one’s handphone device as it could keep other locals safe. A phone contains various records and in a way, it is similar to a diary as people often search up information they are curious about or message others one certain topics. This is beneficial to government bodies such as police officers as they are able to use this data to charge criminals or prevent crimes from occurring early on. For example, if a crime has occurred, police officers should be allowed to go through the suspects phone to gain evidence in order to apprehend the suspect. If the criminal is also colluding with another individual, the officers are also able to tell through the messages and call records.
Despite the potential benefit that governments gain when accessing one’s phone data, it is also an invasion of privacy since information in calls and messages are private to each person. As previously mentioned, phones are similar to a diary in which it contains personal details that people might not be willing to share. If governments have unlimited access to these information, it would be an invasion of privacy. For example, someone might have messages which are relatively private such as problems they may have in life which they are only willing to share with some close individuals or even important information such as passwords could be saved on the phone. If governments have access to these, there would no longer be any privacy for the person as it is now in the open.
In conclusion, I believe that although there could be benefits for governments to have access to calls and messages to stop crime, governments should not be allowed access as it is an invasion of privacy and a human right violation.