Ethics and Social Impacts of Computing Focus Area

• Academic

  Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility

  This research center, located at De Montfort University in the United Kingdom, maintains a web site containing links to international conferences and resources on ethics.

  Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions

  This research center, located at the Illinois Institute of Technology, maintains a web site containing links to information on ethics for various professions. The center also publishes a journal on professional ethics and has also received a grant to make codes of ethics available online.

  The ImpactCS Project

  The ImpactCS Project, a three-year project located at The George Washington University, will develop materials about ethical decision making and social impact which can be integrated with existing Computer Science and Engineering curricula.

• Public Interest Organizations

  Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility

  CPSR "is a public-interest alliance of computer scientists and others concerned about the impact of computer technology on society." CPSR sponsors a Computer Ethics Institute and a Working Group on CyberRights.

  Center for Democracy and Technology

  CDT " works to develop and advocate public policies that advance constitutional civil liberties and democratic values in new computer and communications technologies." CDT maintains a website which demonstrates the information which sites can collect about users online and the privacy policies of four commercial service providers.

  Electronic Privacy Information Center

  EPIC, "was established focus public attention on emerging civil liberties issues and to protect privacy, the First Amendment, and constitutional values." EPIC maintains a web site containing news about current privacy legislation and privacy "hot topics," as well as links to information about privacy protection tools.

• Professional Organizations

  The Association for Computing Machinery

  The ACM is the world's oldest and largest educational and scientific computing society.. The ACM sponsors a special interest group called Computers in Society. The Documents web page contains a link to the ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct

  The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

  The IEEE is the "world's largest technical professional society." The Documents web page contains a link to. The IEEE sponsors the Society on Social Implications of Technology which owns an electronic mailing list "Tech & Society." The Documents web page contains a link to the IEEE's Code of Ethics.

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Information Policy Committee, National Information Infrastructure Task Force(April 1997) Options for Promoting Privacy on the National Information Infrastructure, Draft for Public Comment

This lengthy report begins by discussing the history of privacy protection in the United States, concentrating on privacy in communications and in the marketplace and privacy of federal government records and of medical records. The report then considers the best way to protect and enhance privacy on the NII, outlining the advantages and disadvantages of two ends of the spectrum : continuing sector-by-sector protection and creating a federal entity to oversee privacy protection .

Privacy Working Group, Information Infrastructure Task Force (1995). Principles Providing and Using Personal Information

The principles, which apply to private and government data collection, require everyone to respect information privacy, information integrity and information integrity. They also create specific responsibilities for individuals who provide personal information (acquisition, notice, protection, fairness)as well as for users of personal information (awareness and self-empowerment).

Federal Trade Commission (July 1997). Opinion Letter to the Center for Media Education

This opinion letter states that the Federal Trade Commission will consider the collection of personally identifiable information >from children without giving parents notice and an opportunity to control collection and use of the information to be an unfair and deceptive trade practice. The letter also states that collecting personally identifiable information from children for one purpose without disclosing that the information will be used for another purpose is an unfair and deceptive trade practice.

Federal Trade Commission .(December 1997). Individual Reference Services: A Report to Congress

After studying businesses which provide information on individuals, the Federal Trade Commission recommended that these businesses regulate themselves (for the time being) based on principles developed by themselves. These principles regulate access to non public information by type of customer, with greater control tied with greater access to non- public information and vice versa. Individuals must be given access to information if they request it and have a limited right to opt-out of distribution.

Council of Ministers of the European Commission (1995).EU Directive on DataProtection

This directive requires European Union members to adopt personal data protection laws which meet the standards outlined in the directive by the middle of this year. The standards state that personal data must be collected for legitimate purposes and used in ways compatible with those purposes and that people must be notified when data is collected about them and are given an opportunity to view and correct the data. These standards also require creation of a supervisory authority and a judicial remedy for violations. Under the directive, EU members can only transfer personal data to third countries (including the US) which provide an "adequate level of privacy protection."

• ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct
• IEEE Code of Ethics
• IEEE Draft Code of Ethics for Software Engineers
• Code of Conduct from the British Computer Society
• Systems Administrators Guild of Australia Code of Ethics

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• Pending

  Internet School Filtering Act, S 1619

  This proposed law would require all schools which receive universal service assistance to install systems which block or limit access on the Internet to material "inappropriate to minors" and for libraries which receive universal service assistance to install at least one such system.

  Data Privacy Act of 1997, HR 2368

  This proposed law would protect the privacy of interactive computer service users through voluntary guidelines adopted by the providers of such service on collection and use for commercial purposes of personally identifiable information and on distribution of unsolicited commercial e- mail. The law also requires procedures for consumer opt-out.

  Consumer Internet Privacy Protection Act of 1997, HR 98

  This proposed law would prohibit interactive computer services from making personally identifiable information provided by a user available to a third party without the user's written consent. The law also requires interactive computer services to provide users access to their personally identifiable information and to allow them to verify and correct this information.

  Federal Internet Privacy Protection Act of 1997, HR 1367

  This proposed law would prohibit federal agencies from making records about individuals available on the Internet if the records contain identifying information about the individual or information about the education, financial transactions, medical history, or employment history of an individual

• Enacted

  Georgia Computer Systems Protection Act, Ga Code 16-9-93.1(1996)

  This criminal statute prohibits the transmission of data over a computer network if either the name of the sender is "falsely identified" or if a name or identifying symbol is used without the permission of the owner.

  Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 USC 2701-2711

  This complex statute, passed in 1986 as an amendment to the wire- tapping statute, prohibits unauthorized interception of electronic communications, unauthorized access to electronic communication facilities and unauthorized disclosure of electronic communications by the government and private parties.

  Privacy Act of 1974, 5 USC 552a

  This law, passed in 1974 as a Watergate reaction, requires federal agencies which hold records about individuals in a system of records to collect information only when necessary, develop policies for protecting information about individuals and give individuals access to records about them. Generally, federal agencies may not disclose information about individuals without their consent.

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• Pending

  Mainstream Loudoun v. Board of Trustees of the Loudoun County Public Library

  This complaint was filed on behalf of public library users(other parties, including Web site owners have joined since) alleging that the library's use of a content blocking service on its public access computers violates the First Amendment.

  ACLU of Georgia v. Miller

  The American Civil Liberties Union filed a complaint on behalf of people who use the Internet, challenging the constitutionality of the Georgia Computer Systems Protection Act. A federal court enjoined enforcement of the statute until the court decides challenges of vagueness and overbreadth.

  Mc Veigh v. Cohen

  Timothy Mc Veigh filed a complaint alleging that the Navy had conducted an unlawful investigation and improperly discharged him on the ground that he had engaged in "homosexual conduct". A federal court enjoined Mc Veigh's discharge from the Navy, ruling that McVeigh had shown a likelihood of succeeding on his claims that the Navy violated its "don't ask, don't tell" policy and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act by obtaining his user profile from America Online without a warrant .

• Decided

  Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 (1965)

  Defendants were convicted as accomplices under a Connecticut statute which prohibited the use of any drug or device to prevent conception. The United States Supreme Court reversed the conviction, ruling that the statute violated the consitutional right to marital privacy. The Court found that several sections of the Bill of Rights, including the Fourth and Fifth Amendments, create a zone of privacy.

  Talley v. California, 362 U.S. 60 (1960).

  Defendant was convicted under a Los Angeles ordinance which prohibited the distribution of a handbill without the names and addresses of the author and distributor. The United States Supreme Court reversed the conviction, ruling that anonymity served an important purpose in allowing freedom of expression and that the identification requirement violated the First Amendment.

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• 1791-Bill of Rights adopted as Amendments to the United States Constitution.
  
• 1890- Louis D. Brandeis and Samuel D. Warren publish article in Harvard Law Review defining privacy as "the right to be left alone."
  
• 1960- William L. Prosser publishes article in California Law Review describing four different types of invasions of privacy.
  
• 1965- United States Supreme Court decides Griswold v. Connecticut.
  
• 1973- Federal Advisory Committee on Automated Personal Data Systems issues code of fair information practices.
  
• 1973-Sweden passes data protection law.
  
• 1974-United States Congress passes the Privacy Act of 1974.
  
• 1981- Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) issues Guidelines for the protection of Privacy and Transborder Flows of Personal Data .
  
• 1986-United States Congress passes Electronic Communications Privacy Act.
  
• 1988-United States Congress passes Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act
  
• 1991- Lotus Development Corporation and Equifax Incorporated announce that they are canceling plans to release Marketplace: Households , a database product with information about 120 million Americans.
  
• 1993- Vice President Gore establishes Information Infrastructure Task Force. Privacy Working Group created.
  
• 1995- Privacy Working Group issues Principles for Providing and Using Personal Information.
  
• 1995- Council of Ministers of the European Commission adopts Directive "on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data."

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• Glossary of Ethics Terms
• Filtering FAQ
• Privacy by Topic: The A to Z's of Privacy
• Definitions of Online Privacy Terms

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• Online Privacy References

  Rob Kling (1994, 1995). Information Technologies and the shifting balance between privacy and social control In Computerization and Controversy , 2 ed.

  This introductory essay discusses the different meanings of privacy , identifies five value orientations which produce differing positions on privacy and summarizes United States policy on privacy.

  Electronic Privacy Information Center (June 1997). Surfer Beware: Personal Privacy and the Internet

  EPIC surveyed 100 popular Web sites to find out about the personal information collected by each site as well as their privacy policies. This report states that almost half of the sites collected personal information about users ; only 17 sites had formal privacy policies, and none of the sites met "basic standards for privacy protection." The report also states that most of the sites allowed users to remain anonymous.

  Georgia Tech(December 1997) GVU 8th WWW Survey

  This online survey of 10,000+ Web users found that a majority of users regarded privacy as the most important issue facing the Internet and thought that new laws were needed to protect Internet privacy.

  Mark Lemley (1995). . Rights of Attribution and Integrity in On-Line Communications Journal of Online Law. art. 2,.

  This article describes the scope and application of the rights to attribution, integrity of identity and anonymity in online communication. Lemley concludes that there may be a trade-off between asserting the rights of attribution and integrity of identity and maintaining the right to anonymity.

  Jean Camp ."Web Security & Privacy: An American Perspective", ACM SIGCAS CEPC '97 Computer Ethics: Philosophical Inquiry

  After discussing the relationship between privacy and security, this conference paper summarizes and then applies United States privacy law to activities engaged in on the Web. Camp concludes that some of these activities are analogous to activities already protected under United States privacy law.

• Online Ethics References

  CPSR Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics

  Simon Rogerson (1996). The Ethics of Computing: the first and second generations. The Business Ethics Network News, Issue 6

  This article divides the field of computer ethics into two generations. The first generation developed a conceptual framework for studying computer ethics; the second generation must develop a framework for practice in the broader field of information ethics.

  Rob Kling (1994). Beyond Outlaws, Hackers and Pirates In Computerization and Controversy, 2ed.

  This introductory essay provides an overview of ethics, ethical theories and ethical analysis and describes professional codes of conduct and their role as educational, rather than enforcement, tools.

  Robert Barger (1994).. In Search Of a Common Rationale For Computer Ethics Third Annual Computer Ethics Institute Conference

  This brief conference paper argues that a common rationale for computer ethics should be developed by agreeing on principles, applying these principles by prohibiting unethical behavior and enforcing the principles by punishing unethical behavior. The paper also discusses idealism, realism, pragmatism and existentialism as competing philosophical bases for computing ethics.

• Online Bibliographies and Lists

  Tavani Bibliography of Computing, Ethics and Social Responsibility

  This comprehensive bibliography , organized by topic, is an excellent source for the classic print sources on the ethical and social aspects of computing.

  Instructional Resources in Engineering Ethics, Computer Ethics and Research Ethics

  This list ,assembled by Case Western's WWW Ethics Center for Engineering & Science, includes the syllabi for many courses on the social and ethical impacts of computing as well as case studies and role plays.

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• Navy Breaks 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Privacy Law: Judge Blocks Sailor's Dismissal Emphasizing the Importance of Privacy Rights Online
• FTC Surfs Children's Sites to review privacy practices: Most are collecting data on kids: few seek parental approval
• Information Industry Voluntarily Agrees to Stronger Protections for Consumers, FTC says

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