Ethics in Information Technology, Second Edition 1 Computer & Society Week 6 Marwan Al-Namari

Ethics in Information Technology, Second Edition2 Free Speech and Limits “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to death your right to say it!” – biographer of Francois Voltaire "The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man falsely shouting fire in a theater and causing a panic." -- Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., in 1919, United States Supreme Court

Ethics in Information Technology, Second Edition3 Freedom of expression & First Amendment Rights Right to freedom of expression –Important right for free people everywhere –Guaranteed by the First Amendment in USA Definition of free speech includes –Nonverbal, visual, and symbolic forms of expression –Right to speak anonymously

Ethics in Information Technology, Second Edition4 First Amendment Rights (continued) Not protected by the First Amendment –Obscene speech –Defamation –Incitement of panic –Incitement to crime –“Fighting words” –Sedition

Ethics in Information Technology, Second Edition5 Obscene Speech Speech is considered obscene when –Average person finds the work appeals to the prurient interest –Work depicts or describes sexual conduct in an offensive way –Lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value

Ethics in Information Technology, Second Edition6 Defamation Publication of a statement of alleged fact that is –False –Harms another person Harm is often of a financial nature Slander –Oral defamatory statement Libel –Written defamatory statement

Ethics in Information Technology, Second Edition7 Offensive Speech and Censorship in Cyberspace What is offensive speech? –Political or religious speech. –Pornography. –Racial slurs. –Nazi materials. –Abortion information. –Depictions of violence –How to make Bombs –Alcohol ads.

Ethics in Information Technology, Second Edition8 Freedom of Expression: Key Issues Controlling access to information on the Internet Anonymity Defamation Hate speech Pornography

Ethics in Information Technology, Second Edition9 Controlling Access to Information on the Internet Material Inappropriate for Children –Technology Changes the Context On the Web, children have access to the same ‘adult’ text, images, videos, etc. as adults. Online proprietors don’t know the customer is not an adult. –Protecting Children It is illegal to create, possess or distribute child pornography, regardless of the medium.

Ethics in Information Technology, Second Edition10 Controlling Access to Information on the Internet Material Inappropriate for Children –There is no doubt that there is material on the Web that most people would consider inappropriate for children. –There is much on the Web that is extremely offensive to adults. –It is not surprising that some people see the Internet as a scary place for children.

Ethics in Information Technology, Second Edition11 Controlling Access to Information on the Internet Censorship Laws –Communications Decency Act (CDA, 1996) Publicity and public pressure lead Congress to pass this act. Anyone who made available to anyone under 18 any communication that is obscene or indecent would be subject to a $100,000 fine and two years in prison. In 1997, the CDA was ruled unconstitutional because it was too vague and too broad in protecting children online and because less restrictive means are available.

Ethics in Information Technology, Second Edition12 Controlling Access to Information on the Internet Censorship Laws (cont’d) –Child Online Protection Act (COPA, 1998) Commercial Web sites that make available to minors materials “harmful to minors”, as judged by community standards would be subject to a $50,000 fine and six months in jail. In 2000 and 2003, COPA was ruled unconstitutional by a federal court.

Ethics in Information Technology, Second Edition13 Controlling Access to Information on the Internet Censorship Laws (cont’d) –Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA, 2000) Any school or library receiving federal Internet funds must install filtering software on all Internet terminals. Filters must block sites containing child pornography, obscene material, and any material deemed “harmful to minors.” A federal appeals court ruled a major part of CIPA unconstitutional in 2002 but the Supreme Court upheld the law in 2003.

Ethics in Information Technology, Second Edition14 Controlling Access to Information on the Internet Internet Access in Libraries and Schools –Filtering Software Benefit: prevent access to inappropriate material on the Internet by screening words or phrases, blocking sites according to rating system, or disallowing access to specific sites in a list. Problems: can be ineffective—kids get around the filters; the words, phrases, rating systems, etc. are subjective; “banned” keywords can be overly restrictive for adult users and for legitimate use by minors.

Ethics in Information Technology, Second Edition15 Controlling Access to Information on the Internet –Filtering Software URL filtering –Blocks URLs or domain names Keyword filtering –Blocks key words or phrases Dynamic content filtering –Web site’s content is evaluated immediately before being displayed –Uses »Object analysis »Image recognition

Ethics in Information Technology, Second Edition16 Controlling Access to Information on the Internet (continued) Popular Internet filters –ContentProtect –CYBERsitter –NetNanny –CyberPatrol –HateFilter

Ethics in Information Technology, Second Edition17 Controlling Access to Information on the Internet (continued) ICRA rating system –Questionnaire for Web authors –Generates a content label Uses Platform for Internet Content Selection (PICS) standard –Users can configure browsers to read the label to block content –Relies on Web authors to rate their site –Complement to other filtering techniques

Ethics in Information Technology, Second Edition18 Controlling Access to Information on the Internet (continued) ISP blocking –Blocking is performed on the ISP server –ClearSail/Family.NET prevents access to certain Web sites

Ethics in Information Technology, Second Edition19 Legal Overview: Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) Federally financed schools and libraries must block computer access to –Obscene material –Pornography –Anything considered harmful to minors Schools and libraries subject to CIPA do not receive Internet access discounts unless they certify that Internet safety measures are in place –Required to adopt a policy to monitor the online activities of minors

Ethics in Information Technology, Second Edition20 Legal Overview: Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) (continued) CIPA does not require the tracking of Internet use by minors or adults Acceptable use policy agreement is an essential element of a successful program in schools –Signed by Students Parents Employees Difficulty implementing CIPA in libraries because their services are open to people of all ages –Including adults with First Amendment rights

Ethics in Information Technology, Second Edition21 Anonymity Principle of anonymous expression –People can state opinions without revealing their identity –In the wrong hands, it can be a tool to commit illegal or unethical activities

Ethics in Information Technology, Second Edition22 Anonymity Common Sense and the Internet –Early publications by some of our Founding Fathers were published under pseudonyms. –Jonathon Swift published his humorous and biting political satire Gulliver’s Travels anonymously. –In the nineteenth century, when it was not considered proper for women to write books, women writers such as Mary Ann Evans published under male pseudonym. –Today, there are publications on the Net that are posted anonymously.

Ethics in Information Technology, Second Edition23 Anonymity Common Sense and the Internet –Whistleblowers may choose to release information via anonymous postings. –To send anonymous , one sends the message to a r er service, where the return address is stripped off and the message is resent to the intended recipient. –Several businesses, like Anonymizer.com and Zero-Knowledge Systems, provide a variety of sophisticated tools and services that enable us to send and surf the Web anonymously.

Ethics in Information Technology, Second Edition24 Defamation and Hate Speech Actions that can be prosecuted include –Sending threatening private messages over the Internet to a person –Displaying public messages on a Web site describing intent to commit acts of hate-motivated violence –Libel directed at a particular person

Ethics in Information Technology, Second Edition25 Defamation and Hate Speech (continued) Some ISPs voluntarily agree to prohibit subscribers from sending hate messages –Does not violate subscribers’ First Amendment rights –ISPs must monitor the use of their service –Take action when terms are violated

Ethics in Information Technology, Second Edition26 Manager’s Checklist for Handling Freedom of Expression in the Workplace