Ethics - MS008A - Kirsten Ribu - Siri Fagernes HiO - 2004 1 Censorship and Freedom of Speech. Intellectual Property. Privacy 21.09.2004 Chapters 3, 4 and

Ethics - MS008A - Kirsten Ribu - Siri Fagernes HiO - 2004

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Censorship and Freedom of Speech. Intellectual Property.Privacy

21.09.2004

Chapters 3, 4 and 5


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Today

Censorship – Internet censorship Intellectual property Privacy


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But first …..

A Home Computer http://users.net1plus.com/scottm/

HomeComputer.jpg


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Censorship

What is censorship? Discuss

Case: Revenge on the Internet


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What is censorship?

’The attempt to supress or regulate public access to material considered offensive or harmful.’

Excercised by governments and religious institutions

Example: Government monopolization: The Soviet Union: suppressed flow of information and freedom of speech

Possesion of child pornography


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The Internet: Challenges

Many-to-many communications Difficult to censure compared with

newspapers and Television The Internet is dynamic, large

More….discuss


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Cases described in Dagbladet (Magasinet)

Revenge on the Internet Revenge by e-mail

Slander about the love life of a well-known lawyer

Not just in the office, but in all cyberspace (!)

Usenet discussions - Difficult to stop e-mail campaigns


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Ethical problem:

Chain letters (e-mails) describing people in a negative way.

Not necessarily illegal Unethical? Protection of privacy vs. freedom of

speech?


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Example

Information about private things must be of interest to the public

For instance: A politician for the Christian Democratic

Party (KrF) who publically advocates a moral view and in private does something completely different


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Ethical Views on Censorship

Kant’s view: Have courage to use your own reason Obstacles to using own reason were

removed in the Enlightenment Kant opposed censorship


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John Stuart Mill

Freedom of expression Good ideas prevail over bad ones Applied to the www: supports the free

exchange of opinions and oppose all government censorship


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Priniciple of harm - John Stuart Mill

’The only ground on which intervention is justified is to prevent harm to others, the individual’s own good is not a sufficient condition’.

Excercise Write down examples of censorship that

are based on this principle.


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Freedom of Expression

A constitutional right An absolute right?

Discuss


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INTERNET FREE EXPRESSION ALLIANCE

http://www.ifea.net/ Quote: ’The Internet is a powerful and

positive forum for free expression. It is the place where "any person can

become a town crier with a voice that resonates farther than it could from any soapbox," (as the U.S. Supreme Court recently observed). ’


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Cont.

’Internet users, online publishers, library and academic groups and free speech and journalistic organizations share a common interest in opposing the adoption of techniques and standards that could limit the vibrance and openness of the Internet as a communications medium.

Indeed, content "filtering" techniques already have been implemented in ways inconsistent with free speech principles, impeding the ability of Internet users to publish and receive constitutionally protected expression. ’


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Freedom in Cyberspace

Discuss these views: The Internet is a common area, a public

space like a village square, except that it is the largest common area that has yet existed.

This world-wide community is as large and diverse as humanity itself. Therefore, no one community's standards can govern the type of speech permissible on the Internet.


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Continued….

In the words of John Gilmore, a founding member of the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) "The Inernet interprets censorship as

damage, and routes around it." Because of the Internet's robust design, it is

impossible to completely block access to information except in very limited and controlled circumstances blocking access to a specific site from a home

computer using a firewall to block certain sites from

employees on a workplace network. http://livinginternet.com/i/ip_speech.htm


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Freedom of Speech and Press on the Internet

The Free Software Foundation supports the freedoms of speech, press, and association on the Internet.

Save the Web is a movement dedicated to ensuring that the highest priority of Internet law in Europe is to protect individual Internet users' rights.

http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/basic-freedoms.html


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Red Alert

The digital copyright threat : The most dangerous new proposed law is being pushed in Brussels by powerful multinational film, music and software companies. They are telling EU politicians that the Internet will turn us all into thieves, and want sweeping new laws that extend their rights on the Internet. If succeeds, they will destroy the Web as we know it. But they didn't succeed in America, and we can still stop them in Europe . But we have to act now.

Threats to privacy : A wide range of businesses, governments, and law-enforcement agencies want to watch what we do on the Internet. We will lose our rights to privacy if we don't defend them.


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Organizations that work for freedom in computer development and electronic communications

openrevolt.org This site is devoted to providing information about the European Copyright Directive and similar legislation.

OpenCores The OpenCores project exists to further the aims of the Open IP Core definition,

chillingeffects.org Chilling Effects is a collection point for cease and desist notices concerning online activity -- we invite visitors to enter C&Ds they have received or sent. The website collects the C&Ds in a searchable database and hyperlinks them to explanations of the legal issues.

The League for Programming Freedom The League for Programming Freedom is an organization that opposes software patents and user interface copyrights.


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Cont Free Protocols Foundation The Free Protocols

Foundation (FPF) is an independent public forum, dedicated to the support of patent-free protocols.

Electronic Frontier Foundation EFF, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, is a non-profit, non-partisan organization working in the public interest to protect fundamental civil liberties, including privacy and freedom of expression, in the arena of computers and the Internet.

Electronic Privacy Information Center EPIC is a public interest research center in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1994 to focus public attention on emerging civil liberties issues and to protect privacy, the First Amendment, and constitutional values.


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Cont…. 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. We work to influence decisions regarding the development and use of computers because those decisions have far-reaching consequences and reflect our basic values and priorities.

Global Internet LibertyCampaign The GILC comprises of members from American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, Human Rights Watch, the Internet Society, Privacy International, the Association des Utilisateurs d'Internet, and other civil liberties and human rights organizations. They advocate the prohibition of censorship of on-line communication, and insist that on-line free expression should not be restricted by indirect means such as excessively restrictive governmental or private controls over computer hardware or software, telecommunications infrastructure, or other essential components of the Internet.


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Intellectual Property

What is intellectual property? Definition: ’any unique product of the

human intellect (and that has some value in the marketplace )’

Source: (The university of Texas – Intellectual properties: www.uta.edu/tto/ip-defs.htm)


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Fair use

It is legal to reproduce a copyright work in some cicumstances: Educational use Use of non-fiction rather than fiction Parts rather than whole chapters Use of out-of-print material


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Siri’s Example

Could she publish the material she used in class on the web?


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Peer-to-peer Networks

Napster – the DVD Jon case KaZaA – ehical considerations?


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Protection of Privacy


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Electronic surveillance The Internet poses threats to personal security and

privacy. Sensitive information is circulating in electronic

form, including telephone conversations, FAX messages, electronic mail, fund transfers, trade secrets and health records.

The same technological advances that have brought enormous benefits to humankind also make us more vulnerable than ever before to unwanted and potentially dangerous snooping by Governments business competitors Terrorists Nosy neighbors Hackers thieves.


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Harms and benefits of privacy

Illegal and unethical acvtivities Privacy – A Necessary right?

Discussion


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Laws

§2 – ’The Law of Personal Privacy’ – ’Lov om personvern’ – Norway

US law – Privacy Act of 1974

More next week


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Spyware

Computer users are finding programs on their computers that they did not know were installed and that they cannot uninstall

The programs create privacy problems and open security holes that can hurt the performance and stability of their

systems lead them to mistakenly believe that these

problems are the fault of another application or their Internet provider.


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The Center for Democracy and Technology

CDT is working on several fronts to combat the "spyware" problem. http://www.cdt.org/mission/

’We believe a complete solution will require a combination of better enforcement of

existing laws, anti-spyware technologies, self-regulatory policies, and possibly new legislation.’

Yes?


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Privacy International

Privacy International (PI) is a human rights group formed in 1990 as a watchdog on surveillance and privacy invasions by governments and corporations.

PI is based in London, England, and has an office in Washington, D.C.

PI has conducted campaigns and research throughout the world on issues ranging from wiretapping and national security, to ID cards, video surveillance, data matching, police information systems, medical privacy, and freedom of information and expression.

http://www.privacyinternational.org/


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Crime, terrorism and wiretapping

Wiretapping: Traditional interception of telephone conversations

Affects innocent people Is it acceptable in the combat against

crime/terrorism? Discuss

Voice over IP – how does new technology influence the view on wiretapping?


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Wiretapping

Big Brother in the Wires Wiretapping in the Digital Age

http://archive.aclu.org/issues/cyber/wiretap_brother.html


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Anonymity. How safe are you?

Remaining anonymous on the Internet helps secure your identity, and prevent it from getting into the wrong hands.

Knowledge is the best weapon against the threat of being exploited.

Should one be able to remain anonymous on the Internet?


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Excercises

Write half a page - one page about one of the following topics: What are the benefits and harms of Internet censorship? Why copyright? Spyware and privacy concerns. Wiretapping – ethical concerns

Send it to the others on your group. Read the other’s work. Group 1: Bård, Fatima, Le, Håvard Group 2: Weng, Ismail, Stig, Ole Group 3: Raheel, Claudia, Trond, Phong, Ellef


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Next Week

Computer crime Laws and regulations

Documents

Ethics - MS008A - Kirsten Ribu - Siri Fagernes HiO - 2004 1 Censorship and Freedom of Speech. Intellectual Property. Privacy 21.09.2004 Chapters 3, 4 and