CSIT 101 Assignment 1: Information Literacy

Stephen Bellamy

1

(2.) Write a paragraph summarizing article.
The article " FBI tells Apple, Google their privacy efforts could hamstring investigations"
talks about how the Federal Bureau of Investigations is in talks with Apple and Google in order
to gain access their customers data from their phones. F.B.I. Director James Comey believes the
inability to access smart phones could interfere with time sensitive investigations, such as
kidnappings or terrorism. (Perez, 2014) However, after Edward Snowden exposed the U.S.
government of mass surveillance, Apple and Google have put extra effort to assure their
customers of their privacy. One way they have done this is by making the user's password no
longer by-passable in Apple's new iOS8, and Google's android phones have already had this
privacy feature in affect. (Perez, 2014). James Comey stated that it's "very concerning" that the
companies (Apple, Google) were " marketing something expressly to allow people to place
themselves above the law". (Perez, 2014) On the other hand, isn't the government watching what
we say, text, or post, place the government above our rights? Either way something will have to
give, citizens deserve their right to privacy but, at the expense of our security? Hopefully this
dialog between the F.B.I., Apple, and Google will help them come to an agreement somewhere
in the middle, and find a way to allow access only in times of imminent danger to the public or
individuals, and with a warrant.
(3.) Find two additional Internet articles on the same topic.
I used Google and Bing to search: FBI Apple Google, and got to different results. First,
Google's advance search was easier to get to, I typed /advance_search and the menus came right
up. However, when I typed in /advance_search on Bing, instead of bringing up Bing's advance
search menu, it brought up Google's menu instead. Another thing that I noticed is Google had
pictures with the search results, and most sites were in English. Where Bing's results lacked
CSIT 101 Assignment 1: Information Literacy
Stephen Bellamy

2

images, and top three results were English, and then the next couple were in another language.
With a little digging the results were about the same I found two articles: Google's: "FBI
criticizes Apple, Google moves to deny data access" (Cava, 2014), and Bing's: " FBI: new
Apple, Google phones too secure, could put users 'beyond the law'" (Axelrad, 2014). Both
articles had almost the same exact information as my original article, but Google's was easier to
retrieve. Overall I think Google's search engine was easier to access and understand compared to
Bing.
(4.) TRAAP your sources. Evaluate one Internet article you found in step 3.
1.) Time: It was written September 25, 2014, and it has not been updated
2.)Relevance: This article relates to my topics of Mobile Technology, Privacy, and Security.
Since it talks about the FBI trying to gain access to Apple's, and Google's user's smart phone data
to improve security for U.S. citizens.
3.)Authority: Marco Della Cava, USA Today's Staff Writer/Culture and Technology. His
covered everything from cars(his admitted passion) to Princess Diane's death. His been a writer
for 25 years 14 of which was in culture and technology. I believe Marco Della Cava is a capable
and reliable source, due to his years of coverage in the field of culture and technology.
4.) Accurate: I believe this article is accurate. It comes from a conference with the director of the
F.B.I., James Comey. Also there are multiple articles with almost the same information, and
qoutes. Through the F.B.I.'s failed efforts to access data, the unbypass able user pass codes have
been founded to be true.
5.) Purpose: This article was written for two purposes. First, to inform users that the F.B.I. is still
trying to access their data. Second, to assure users that their privacy is still safe at the moment.
(5.) Find two scholarly journal articles on the same topic from the CCBC library.
CSIT 101 Assignment 1: Information Literacy
Stephen Bellamy

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Keywords: FBI information gathering
I couldn't find an current articles from 2014 in the science/technology section, so I used
the Proquest SIRS database under current issues. The reason I selected this database is because
of the requirement that the article must be current (within 30 days). So I figured that current
issues would have the most recent articles.
(6.) Compare the Internet and Journal articles
The internet articles are far easier to find than CCBC's library Journals. Through the
advance search, on Google or Bing, I was able to narrow my search to current articles and pick a
good one with ease. The CCBC library advance search however, was difficult to find something
within the year of 2014, and nearly impossible to find anything within 30 days. Also, since the
internet was so much easier to use than CCBC library, it was much quicker. Authority wise, the
internet articles seemed to be reliable, and after researching the author, Marco Della Cava, he
seems to be a reliable source. CCBC's library through my experience as a student always gives
reliable and true sources. While the internet articles were easier to find, I trust the CCBC's
sources more. As long as I'm not writing on current events I would use the CCBC over internet
articles.

CSIT 101 Assignment 1: Information Literacy
Stephen Bellamy

4

Works Cited
Axelrad, J. (2014, September 25). FBI: new Apple, Google phones too secure, could put user 'beyond the
law'. Retrieved from www.yahoo.com: http://news.yahoo.com/fbi-apple-google-phones-too-
secure-could-put-225021452.html
Cava, M. D. (2014, September 25). FBI criticizes Apple, Google moves to deny data access. Retrieved
from www.usatoday.com: http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/09/25/fbi-critical-apple-
google-decision-to-deny-officials-access-to-customer-data/16215469/
Perez, E. a. (2014, September 27). FBI tells Apple, Google their privacy efforts could hamstring
investigations. Retrieved from www.cnn.com: http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/25/politics/fbi-
apple-google-privacy/index.html?iref=allsearch
Savage, G. D. (2014, June 26). Court Deems Phones Private. Los Angeles Time, pp. A-1.
Timberg, C. (2014, May 2). Apple, Facebook, Others Defy Authorities, Notify Users of Secret Data
Demans. Wasington Post. Retrieved from sks.sirs.com:
http://sks.sirs.com.ccbcmd.idm.oclc.org/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=S3673369-0-
5978&artno=0000363075&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=FBI%20google%20apple&title=Apple%2C
%20Facebook%2C%20Others%20Defy%20Authorities%2C%20Notify%20Users%20of%20Secret%
2E%2E%2E&res=