1 Ethics of Computing MONT 113G, Spring 2012 Session 27 Ethics in IT Societies III Privacy

2 Democracy and the Internet What is democracy? Political power is in the hands of the citizens. Government is accountable to the citizens. Moral justification for democracy: "Individuals are sovereign over themselves." (Johnson) Therefore, they must have some say in their government. Deontological justification: Utilitarian justification:

3 Is the Internet Democratic? Is the internet inherently democratic? Does the adoption of internet technology lead to the adoption of democratic practices? Arguments for: Individuals produce and distribute information Internet provides many forums for discussion Internet provides access to more sources of information Internet facilitates associations independent of geography.

4 Is the internet democratic? Arguments against: Too much information is available--filtering is required. "Net neutrality" is not a given Surveillance capabilities Global Scope ACLU: Filtering software can greatly limit which sites are accessed. What are their arguments?

5 Privacy in IT societies What's new? What's different about information flow in IT societies from previous societies? Previous modes of information flow: Characteristics of IT information flow:

6 What Else is New? Tools for Data Mining and Managing Databases. Did not emerge in a vacuum (technological determinism) Emerged in response to government and corporate interests. New Kinds of information. Transaction generated information (TGI) Examples: Credit card Clickstream

7 Merging and Mining Data When different types of information is merged and then mined for patterns, this can produce new types of information. Examples: Clickstream profile Amazon.com recommendations Facebook friends--gaydar

8 Other Issues Distribution of information is broader and more extensive than before. Example: Credit rating. Once on a server, information can be bought, sold, given away or stolen. Information endures. Example: Images on Facebook. Errors are very hard to correct.

9 IT Societies are Surveillance Societies IT allows people to be easily tracked and monitored. Examples? Data can be used to create profiles of individuals. The data can be "mined" for patterns of behavior. Questions raised: What is the value of privacy? How does surveillance affect us and our society?