Thoughts on the boundaries of law, digital privacy and protection against crime.

We live our lives through our digital devices and services. We manage our finances online, we manage our health online. We keep our personal thoughts and discussions, our photographic memories and preferred entertainment digitally. All of this exists on our devices that since the early 2010’s have become the 207th bone in the human body. With a young family, I also track my children’s device usage and more importantly, location. It is of the upmost importance that my children’s identity and location is secure and unbreakable in a global environment where nefarious behaviours require us as parents to protect the innocent against what exists beyond the walls and boundaries we create.

I see the reasons why regulators are asking for ‘back doors’ into the devices we all use today to fight heinous crimes and defeat terrorism, but I also expect that our devices are secure and impenetrable. Having read the letter from Tim Cook posted last week, I support the stance Apple is taking in trying to balance following the letter of the law whilst protecting our individual rights.

In addition, last night Tim Cook was interviewed by ABC News in the US on this very matter and I note with interest his comments that I mention in my post earlier, that these devices hold so much more about us and those in our immediate circle — our families and protecting their location etc.

Our lives are becoming so immersed in the digital context that we need to protect our identities and our personal data, whilst being cognisant of the threats these protections bring when used for purposes that expose us to risk from those that would exploit them for the benefit of crimes and terror.

I’d welcome your thoughts on this debate that I can imagine won’t end anytime soon, but will define the boundaries of law and privacy, and the desire for protecting our digital personas.