1 Ethical Issues in Computer Science CSCI 328, Fall 2013 Session 13 Privacy as a Value

2 Definition of Privacy the state or condition of being free from being observed or disturbed by other people : she returned to the privacy of her own home. the state of being free from public attention : a law to restrict newspapers' freedom to invade people's privacy. When we say we value "privacy", clearly we do not mean absolute privacy. What do we mean?

3 Privacy as a Value Control of information about ourselves is important for our autonomy (freedom from external control or influence; independence). We need to release information about ourselves in some contexts, but should have control over whether it flows to other places.

4 Privacy as Contextual Integrity Nissenbaum (2004) argued that there are information norms for every domain of life. People have certain expectations about these in each domain: 1)What kinds of information is appropriate for this context? 2)How will information be distributed in this context? Examples of appropriate information: Applying for a loan Visiting a doctor Examples of distribution norms: Medical information Credit reports

5 Development of Norms Formal norms: Established by legislation or specific policies of an organization. Informal norms: Established and enforced by social expectations. Changing norms: New technology creates situation like a "policy vacuum" for norms. New technology allows collection and distribution of new forms of information. Organizations may use the technology without informing clients. IT tools are often invisible to users and adopted without public announcement. This makes privacy difficult to protect.

6 Privacy Discussions Read your scenario. Present argument for the described practice. Present argument against the described practice. Conclusion: Is the practice overall good or bad (use utilitarian and/or deontological reasoning.)