Internet Ethics Issues and Action in the United States
Michael Zimmer, PhDAssistant Professor, School of Information Studies
Director, Center for Information Policy ResearchUniversity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
www.MichaelZimmer.org
International Symposium on Internet EthicsSeoul, South KoreaSept 12, 2012
Michael Zimmer | International Symposium on Internet Ethics | Sept 12, 2012
Ethical Dilemmas in the United States
• Sex, Violence• Hate Speech
• Hacking• Government
surveillance
• P2P File Sharing
• Mashup Culture
• Social Media• Behavioral
TargetingPrivacy Property
ContentSecurity
Michael Zimmer | International Symposium on Internet Ethics | Sept 12, 2012
Social Media
Explosive rise of social media 66% of online adults in U.S. use social media Share personal information on Facebook, Twitter,
LinkedIn, MySpace Name, email, mobile, address Work and education history Political views, cultural tastes, sexual orientation Photos of self, family
Increasingly inter-connected with variety of online activities and domains
Privacy
Michael Zimmer | International Symposium on Internet Ethics | Sept 12, 2012
Social Media
Facebook’s strategy to monetize: Users’ social graph Communication &
message streams “Likes” and activities
from the platform
Privacy
Michael Zimmer | International Symposium on Internet Ethics | Sept 12, 2012
Social Media
“Four years ago, when Facebook was just getting started, most people didn’t want to put information about themselves on the Internet. So, we got people through this really big hurdle of getting people to want to put up their full name, a real picture, mobile phone number…and connections to real people.”
Mark Zuckerberg
Privacy
Michael Zimmer | International Symposium on Internet Ethics | Sept 12, 2012
Social Media
Ethical dilemma: Expectations of privacy Does willingness to share personal data point to a broad
shift in privacy norms & expectations? Or, might users simply not understand how information is
made visible, captured, commodified?
Ethical dilemma: Value of privacy Are users simply willing to trade privacy for free and
valuable services? Is it a fair trade? Informed?
Privacy
Michael Zimmer | International Symposium on Internet Ethics | Sept 12, 2012
Behavioral Targeting
Customizing online advertising to individual users, based on: Social media profiles Search query history Types of websites visited Actions on particular websites
Privacy
Michael Zimmer | International Symposium on Internet Ethics | Sept 12, 2012
Behavioral Targeting
Privacy
Michael Zimmer | International Symposium on Internet Ethics | Sept 12, 2012
Behavioral Targeting
Ethical dilemma: Privacy vs. free Is it right to expect users to trade their privacy for free
services, and more relevant advertising? Do users have the means to choose privacy?
Ethical dilemma: Privacy vs. business interests Is there a point at which the threats to privacy outweigh
the desire for increased profitability Can industry promises to behave ethically be trusted?
Ethical dilemma: Profiling & the “panoptic sort” Concerns over dignity, accuracy, and discrimination Privacy
Michael Zimmer | International Symposium on Internet Ethics | Sept 12, 2012
Actions…
Some increased oversight by federal government U.S. Federal Trade Commission criticizing Facebook &
Google over practices and user notification Proposed “Do Not Track” mechanism for Internet users to
avoid behavioral targeting
User education & advocacy Google has impressed with its “Privacy Center” & videos Advocacy groups work to increase awareness:
ALA: PrivacyRevolution.org ACLU: DotRights.org
Privacy
Michael Zimmer | International Symposium on Internet Ethics | Sept 12, 2012
Actions…
Scholars and researchers providing new means of thinking about privacy, and understanding expectations in social media environments Helen Nissenbaum, “Privacy in Context” Dan Solove, “The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor,
and Privacy on the Internet” boyd & Marwick, “Social Privacy in Networked Publics:
Teens’ Attitudes, Practices, and Strategies” Turow, et al, “Americans Reject Tailored Advertising and
Three Activities that Enable It”
Privacy
Michael Zimmer | International Symposium on Internet Ethics | Sept 12, 2012
Peer-to-Peer File Sharing
Large, ad hoc networks of personal computers to facilitate the sharing of digital content, often in violation of copyright law In 2004, an estimated 70 million people participated in
online file sharing in the U.S. By 2006, 32 million Americans over the age of 12 had
downloaded at least one feature length movie from the Internet
58% of all Americans thought file sharing was acceptable in some circumstances 70% of 18 to 29 year olds
Property
Michael Zimmer | International Symposium on Internet Ethics | Sept 12, 2012
Peer-to-Peer File Sharing
Legal reaction by the content industry Litigate against P2P providers for willful infringement,
shutting them down Sue individual users accused of sharing/downloading
Letters to college kids threatening federal lawsuit, offering to settle for $3000
Joel Tenenbaum found guilty of sharing 30 songs, fined $675,000
“3-strikes” law, threatening to shutdown Internet connection after 3 warnings from ISP
Property
Michael Zimmer | International Symposium on Internet Ethics | Sept 12, 2012
Peer-to-Peer File Sharing
Ethical dilemma: Ethics of P2P? Can it be ethically justifiable to download a song to provide for
one’s happiness, when prices make ownership prohibitive?
Ethical dilemma: Validity of intellectual property laws IP was originally intended to spur creativity and protect authors’
moral rights, but increasingly viewed as restrictive of culture and motivated by corporate profits
Do property laws apply in digital environments?
Ethical dilemma: Tactics Is it ethical to indiscriminately target college students Is it ethical to monitor network traffic to fight possible copyright
violations Property
Michael Zimmer | International Symposium on Internet Ethics | Sept 12, 2012
Digital Mashup Culture
Emerging creative process of cutting, combining, and mixing up digital files Roots in “sampling”, the re-use of particular parts of a
song in a new composition Often “transformative” – creating entirely new works While utilizing copyright protected material, often
considered “fair use” Transformative Often only small amounts used Often little impact on original market
Property
Michael Zimmer | International Symposium on Internet Ethics | Sept 12, 2012
Digital Mashup Culture
Dangermouse: Grey Album Mashing up the Beatle’s
White Album with Jay Z’s Black Album
Posted for free online Immediate take-down
notice by record companies
Property
Michael Zimmer | International Symposium on Internet Ethics | Sept 12, 2012
Digital Mashup Culture
Girl Talk (Gregg Gillis): Mashups and digital
sampling using small parts of popular songs
Typically uses 15-20 different snippets and loops to create new songs
Credits sources; gives music away for free
Property
Michael Zimmer | International Symposium on Internet Ethics | Sept 12, 2012
Digital Mashup Culture
Ethical dilemma: Ethics of mashups & fair use Is mashup culture sufficiently “transformative” to avoid
ethical concern over the rights of original authors? Are fair use exceptions to copyright sufficient to
encourage creation? Or are they robbing copyright holders of potential markets?
What is ethically on stronger ground: protecting rights of copyright holders or encouraging creativity for the greater good?
Property
Michael Zimmer | International Symposium on Internet Ethics | Sept 12, 2012
Actions…
Government continues to fight P2P and piracy Digital Millennium
Copyright Act (DCMA), and now SOPA and PIPA
Department of Justice prosecuting Magaupload.com, and seizing domain names of infringers
Property
Michael Zimmer | International Symposium on Internet Ethics | Sept 12, 2012
Actions…
But, new business models are emerging iTunes now largest music vendor in the world Film and television industry have launched own ventures
to combat piracy and illegal uploads Hulu, official YouTube channels, etc
Some artists provide music files for free
And scholars/advocates fight for protection of fair use and mashup culture Grey Tuesday American University Center for Social Media
Property
Michael Zimmer | International Symposium on Internet Ethics | Sept 12, 2012
Online Sex & Violence
Online environment conducive for hosting and sharing controversial/taboo material Long history with USENET lists, discussion forums, porn
sites Current examples include live webcams, amateur video
hosting, fetish-specific communities, and “dark web” YouTube and related sites often criticized for hosting
violent videos: Animal violence Amateur and homeless violence Rape videos and sexual violence Content
Michael Zimmer | International Symposium on Internet Ethics | Sept 12, 2012
Online Sex & Violence
Attempts to limit availability and control access typically fall short Difficult to monitor, track, delete offending content from
digital networks Strong 1st Amendment tradition to allow speech, unless
deemed “obscene”, and not overly restrictive Communications Decency Act: Unconstitutional Child Pornography Protection Act: Unconstitutional Child Online Pornography Act: Unconstitutional Children’s Internet Protection Act: Only Partially
Constitutional Content
Michael Zimmer | International Symposium on Internet Ethics | Sept 12, 2012
Hate Speech
Internet provides new means for spread of hate speech: Loud, cheap, and anonymous megaphone to spread
ideas Spaces and tools for hate groups to organize,
communicate Web presence can add visibility and legitimacy to
otherwise fringe groups
Content
Michael Zimmer | International Symposium on Internet Ethics | Sept 12, 2012
Hate Speech
Content
Michael Zimmer | International Symposium on Internet Ethics | Sept 12, 2012
Online Sex & Violence // Hate Speech
Ethical dilemma: Content regulation & filtering Is it ethical to prohibit certain content deemed
unwanted by a portion of society? Is it ethical to impose filtering, which may be imprecise
and overly-restrictive? Does ease of access and distribution online change the
ethical equation of what is acceptable vs. harmful speech?
Is it ethical to regulate what people think and say (compared to physical actions)?
Content
Michael Zimmer | International Symposium on Internet Ethics | Sept 12, 2012
Actions…
Internet companies try to balance speech and protecting/respecting users
Content
Michael Zimmer | International Symposium on Internet Ethics | Sept 12, 2012
Actions…
Internet companies try to balance speech and protecting/respecting users Warnings Community standards & voting Willing to take down offensive/illegal material in certain
markets to comply with (valid) laws
Attempts to segregate content .xxx domain Pushed underground to the “hidden web”
Content
Michael Zimmer | International Symposium on Internet Ethics | Sept 12, 2012
Hacking
White hat: Penetration testing, ensure systems are secure Rarely purposefully cause any damage Often hired by companies themselves
Black hat: Attack systems for profit, for fun, or for political motivations Often involve modification or destroying of data
Hactivism: Combining computer hacking for some broader
social/political cause (fight power, injustice, etc)Security
Michael Zimmer | International Symposium on Internet Ethics | Sept 12, 2012
Hacking
Anonymous Attacks against Church of Scientology due to its
aggressive copyright policies Attacks against PayPal, MasterCard related to
Wikileaks affair
Ed Felton (Freedom to Tinker) Hacking electronic voting machines to reveal
security weaknesses
WikiLeaks Making illegally accessed material freely
available Security
Michael Zimmer | International Symposium on Internet Ethics | Sept 12, 2012
Hacking
Ethical dilemma: The Hacker Ethic Does the ethics of “making information free” justify
unauthorized access, exposure, or damage? When can electronic civil disobedience be ethically
justifiable? Do laws preventing circumvention of security controls
(like DMCA) go too far, and restrict research and criticism that might serve the public good?
Security
Michael Zimmer | International Symposium on Internet Ethics | Sept 12, 2012
Government Surveillance
Increase in government surveillance of Internet activities Total Information Awareness
Post 9/11 attempt Fusion centers, Trapwire SOPA and PIPA
Stated intent to monitor and prevent piracy
Security
Michael Zimmer | International Symposium on Internet Ethics | Sept 12, 2012
Government Surveillance
Room 641A “Secret room" in AT&T's
Folsom Street office in San Francisco
Believed to be one of several internet wiretapping facilities at AT&T offices around the country feeding data to the NSA
Exposed by whistle-blower
Security
Michael Zimmer | International Symposium on Internet Ethics | Sept 12, 2012
Government Surveillance
Ethical dilemma: Outdated security protections Laws meant to protect users (ECPA) are outdated and
irrelevant given Internet technologies
Ethical dilemma: Security vs. privacy Which ethical value is more important? Are “fishing expeditions” or attempts to data-mine and
create predictive profiles ethical?
Security
Michael Zimmer | International Symposium on Internet Ethics | Sept 12, 2012
Actions…
Attempts to control hacking have limited success Occasional raids on Anonymous and 4chan members Often met with retaliation
Supporters of WikiLeaks prosecuted Bradley Manning Fight for Twitter account data
Advocates push for reforms Working towards updating ECPA to better protect Internet
communications from surveillance Seeking transparency in government actions (Wikileaks)Security
Michael Zimmer | International Symposium on Internet Ethics | Sept 12, 2012
Ethical Dilemmas in the United States
• Sex, Violence• Hate Speech
• Hacking• Government
surveillance
• P2P File Sharing
• Mashup Culture
• Social Media• Behavioral
TargetingPrivacy Property
ContentSecurity