Ethics in the Computing Industry EIT, Author Gay Robertson, 2017

What are Ethics? Moral principles Rules and regulations Good behaviour; fair, proper, honourable, decent, principled people Rules and regulations Of conduct and behaviour and performance Course of action Fitness or correctness of the decision for the problem at hand Clear Concepts about what is … good, right, justice, morals, values Responsibility Legal use of data, doing what is proper, right or socially acceptable

History of Computer ethics 1970 –Association of Computing Machinery adopted a Professional Code of Ethics 1988 – Robert Hauptman came up with the term Information Ethics – involving the, production, storage, access and dissemination of information 1992 – ACM adopted new ethical rules called ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct (24 statements of personal responsibility) 1990s – the combination of computers with telecommunication, internet and other media raised new ethical issues 1990s – development of Privacy Acts, growth of computer crimes 1995 – US Research Center of Computing and Society developed the idea that computer ethics would eventually become a global ethical system

and … Developing Ethical Standards… Code of ethics documents were developed to give guidelines to computing professionals: Association for Computing Machinery developed: ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct British Computer Society developed: BCS Code of Conduct & Code of Good Practice Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Computer Society (IEEEComSoc) developed: IEEE Code of Ethics Computer Ethics Institute developed: 10 Commandments of Computer Ethics

10 Ethical Commandments…

Ethical issues for the IT industry

ITP Code of Conduct … The ITP (Information Technology Professionals) Code of Conduct document outlines the eight tenets which govern the following: Good faith (treat people with dignity, good faith and equality) Integrity (act with integrity, dignity and honour) Community-focus (responsibilities for the welfare and rights of community shall come before other interests) Using skills responsibly (to not compromise other tenets) Continuous development (to contribute to collective knowledge) Informed consent (take reasonable steps to inform all of consequences that may arise from actions taken) Conflicts of interest (manage all conflicts between clients or employers) Competence (follow recognized professional practice) Go to https://itp.nz/Members/Code-of-Ethics for the full Code of Conduct read the Tenets of the Code. Close the Browser and you will return here.

Always think about the ethics of … In the workplace … Information stored on a computer should be treated as seriously as the written or spoken word Privacy should not be violated Copying can become plagiarism (cheating) Information for public viewing should not be modified, deleted or inaccessible - these are classed as destructive acts Don’t introduce intrusive software (worms, viruses etc) this is illegal Don’t congest a computer system with a lot of unwanted information Don’t send obscene or crude messages through any type of media Don’t store or send sexually explicit content, pictures or messages

Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) should cover … Maintain system integrity Don’t divulge passwords, pins, private keys or use the identity of another Confidential data - limit access to essential employees only No unauthorised access to other users’ accounts or files Rules should be included to cover: Personal use of email any, some, none and the timing ie lunch hours or after work / before work Internet usage any, some, none and the timing ie lunch hours or after work / before work File sharing Downloading or uploading

From your Student Handbook Email and internet usage Students are expected to respect commercial business etiquette when replying and forwarding emails. Remember your emails could be used for legal evidence. When you are working in an EIT center, use of email is restricted to study matters only. We are training you to work in the workplace and email usage wastes an employer’s time and costs money. Refer to the EIT student Handbook (which you received with your enrolment pack) and the Computer Usage Policy for complete rules. Or go to http://myeit.ac.nz/ to read online

What is illegal material … Censorship in New Zealand is governed by the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993 (the Classification Act) and associated regulations. The Act was the result of the 1987 Ministerial Committee of Inquiry into Pornography Certain images (eg child pornography) are illegal and cannot/should not be viewed, stored or owned in any circumstances The Department of Internal Affairs carries out on-line investigations of people trading in objectionable material, primarily child pornography The New Zealand Customs Service deals with the importation of objectionable material, which is a prohibited import under the Customs and Excise Act 1996 this includes acts of violence or coercion, torture or any other degrading or dehumanizing conduct

What is restricted material … Defined as material which is only made available to people who are over a certain age. Typically, this is R18 or Adult material similar to that which can be legally purchased from video or magazine outlets.

What is Objectionable material … Defined under the Films, Videos and Publications Classification Act 1993 (policed by the Internal Affairs Department) as: “a publication … that describes, depicts or expresses or otherwise deals with matters such as sex, horror, crime, cruelty or violence in such a manner that the availability of the publication is likely to be injurious to the public good.” Although general agreement of what is offensive shifts and changes with cultural norms, always err on the side of caution! Note: Internet service providers (ISPs) are in an uncertain legal position regarding liability for the Internet content to which they provide access. The Classification Act is silent regarding the position of ISPs and it is possible that they could be liable for their part in supplying, distributing or displaying an objectionable publication, even if they did no more than provide access to it. Enforcement activity has focused on those who download and trade objectionable material. ISPs have co-operated with the Department of Internal Affairs, when required to do so by a search warrant, in providing information to assist with investigations of censorship offenders.

What is … Unacceptable use …. In a workplace environment the viewing of, storing of, or sharing of, any form of illegal or objectionable images or material would be considered unacceptable use of the computer by fellow employees and your employer

The role of a Code of Conduct Principles Values Practices The role of a Code of Conduct Defines responsibilities Creates an environment of ethical behaviour Provides a guide for expected behaviour Keeps people informed as it is developed and modified with the changes that occur Provides a benchmark for qualifications and on-going educational requirements Commitment to the IT industry

Ethics in Business … Take a look at the following video – this is one explanation of ethics as it relates to business: Click on URL to view https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmVu66Fpd9U#t=41 Duration: 4m 35s Close the Browser and you will return here.

Conclusion Code of Conduct or Code of Practice required There must be clear rules around how to become a member of the organisation eg ITPNZ membership Members need to formally agree to the code Members accept that they are bound by it Provides a recognised background of trust and reliability Members know they will be faced with disciplinary action if they break the code

General computer ethical issues Intellectual Property Rights Copyrighted electronic (digital) content Privacy concerns - gaining personal information illegally Censorship issues Human and social networking Google street views Artificial intelligence

Let’s hope that helped! But, if it didn’t make much sense – I can go through this again!