1: http://www.business.com/guides/business-ethics-basics-21726/
Donna LindskogCanadian Information Processing Society (CIPS)
The Ethics of Privacy and Censorship
The Ethics of Privacy and Censorship
Donna C. LindskogSask 3.0 Summit
April 25, 2011Regina
Ethics defined a branch of philosophy that involves
systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior.¹ Involves:› Articulating the good habits that we should acquire,› The duties that we should follow› Or the consequences of our behavior on others
We are constantly faced with ethical decisions moment to moment, day to day. ²
[We need to] support our ability to reinforce our own inner wisdom as well as help others around us reflect. ²
1: http://www.iep.utm.edu/ethics/2: http://coopcatalyst.wordpress.com/2011/05/16/fostering-ethics-requires-practice-mindfulness-for-all-ages-guest-post-jennifer-sertl/
All CIPS members (including students) agree to abide by theCode of Ethics and its ethical principles/imperatives:
1. Protecting the Public Interest and Maintaining Integrity;
2. Demonstrating Competence and Quality of Service;
3. Maintaining Confidential Information and Privacy;
4. Avoiding Conflict of Interest; and5. Upholding Responsibility to the IT Profession.
Ethics statements
Identify what ethical imperatives / principles are relevant to the situation
Begin to generate alternative actions and examine probable outcomes
Reflection (feelings and intuitions) Determine action plan Take action
At any time: request interpretation or clarification from CIPS¹
Procedural Ethics
1: Understanding the code of ethics, http://www.cips.ca/ethics
What this means to you
Review actions day to day Consider how this impacts others Look at Risks and Rewards for all
parties Talk to other professionals Speak on behalf of what is best for all
Speak on topics where you are expert:e.g. the Internet
Privacy
Facebook gives notice as it defaults your security to “everyone” Google gives notice as Google search
gets default SSL security¹ but not secure to advertisers.
transparent does not always mean ethical ²
1: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/google/google-search-gets-default-ssl-security/34072: http://www.informationdiet.com/
Transparency How good is this estimate? How much risk is there that
the project will overrun? What are the open questions that will make this estimate change the most?
How good is this design? Is it “futureproof” or will new technologies soon require an upgrade or rewrite or leave holes for hackers? Will it work well with other software in your architecture, now or in the future?
How well was this tested? We know there will be bugs. How can they check for them? How major can a failure be? What plans do they need if this does not work?
Where did this data come from? How was it calculated? How accurate is it?
Who can see this data? Are there any back doors or defaults that may cause security problems? How much does security / privacy depend on the people running the processes?
Anonymous content
The right to keep who you are private? How do we tell who posted Child porn? Value of an opinion nobody admits to? Risk: no way to verify rights to content,
or ensure behavior is ethical Reward: important (in countries) where
speaking out has dire consequences, encourages free speech
SOPA and PIPA
American bills that allow censorship. The Stop Online Piracy Act (any site)and
the PROTECT IP Act (site with sole purpose the distribution of infringing content) are two very similar bills.
REWARD: Piracy costs studios $25B / year¹ RISK: Free Speech, user-generated content
, digital media investors, US Gov’t control of the internet
ACTA
Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement an international treaty of 39 countries –
Canada joined 2011 (thus Bill C-30) Internet Service Providers legally
responsible for their subscribers Reward: Less impact from Piracy Risk: no public input from 2006 until
2008 when discussion papers were leaked by Wikileaks, Policy laundering, ISP monitoring (privacy and cost concerns)
DMCA
legislation already in place. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (1998). Illegal anti-circumvention technology & Safe
Harbor for content hosts REWARD: piracy made harder, cleanup
without legal fees RISK: can’t discuss flaws in security
technology? Copyright holders must monitor everywhere, Creators can’t defend their works,
My Granddaughter
Business Ethics require that a minimum of social
responsibility be met¹ treating people with respect and
dignity, and being honest in your business dealings. ¹
However, the priorities of individuals differ from the priorities of a business, therefore the ethics upheld
vary from company to company.²
1: http://www.business.com/guides/business-ethics-basics-21726/2. http://www.business.com/guides/business-ethics-key-terms-33375/
What makes IT different?
We are experts in Information Technology which is not understood by most business
We work on the World Wide Web We have computing values:
› Openness› Reuse› Generative:
Build on previous ideas› Permissionless› ???
Case Studies needed Discussion on LinkedIn under CIPS group From Sean Heuchert (Ontario):
"Case Studies in Information Technology Ethics" by Richard A. Spinello. 1996
“helped me find my ethical centre”
Let’s use them to continue this discussion “to reinforce our own inner wisdom” .
Thank-you!
Questions? Discussion? Cases?