Privacy is far more important for society than security....
Privacy should be valued over security
Privacy is far more important for society than security. When we examine what privacy stands for, we realise that it essentially translates to freedom. If you take away a man's privacy, you are taking away his freedom and this is something that we simply do not do and that modern governments do not stand for. 1. Privacy is a basic human right Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states "No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks." It is important to recognise that we cannot violate these basic Human Rights Laws put forward by the United Nations. If we undermine and take away something as simple as privacy, then we are undermining all our basic human rights. 2. Our privacy is our freedom Everybody deserves the right to do whatever they want, as long as it is legal, without the scrutiny or surveillance of anyone else, including governments. They should be allowed to go on the internet knowing that they are not being secretly monitored by some agency. They should be allowed to pass through airport security without their naked bodies being scrutinised by others. We all know that everyone has a right to a fair trial and in fact, this is a foundation of our democracy. But a fair trial is where someone is innocent until they proven otherwise with evidence that they have done something wrong. When a person's internet browsing is monitored for possible wrongdoing or suspicious activity, we are punishing them without even knowing if they are guilty or not, and this completely violates their constitutional and human rights. Conclusion Privacy is an absolute necessity in a developed society like ours today. It is a sign of development, an indicator that a government respects its citizens and is willing to grant them their fundamental human rights. Why would we throw this out for security? If we put security first, we are saying that we'd be willing to give up our human rights for a hypothetical threat that may or may not yield an outcome. This is why privacy must come first, otherwise, its illogical, unconstitutional and completely pointless. Let me conclude today by reminding you of something that Benjamin Franklin once famously said: "those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."