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Youth, Ethics, and Technology. Herb Lin Computer Science and Telecommunications Board National Academies Washington DC Views presented are mine alone. Cyberspace is an information world. What is special about information? Easy/cheap to replicate information Anyone can publish or transmit
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Youth, Ethics, and Technology Herb Lin Computer Science and Telecommunications Board National Academies Washington DC Views presented are mine alone
Cyberspace is an information world • What is special about information? • Easy/cheap to replicate information • Anyone can publish or transmit • Hard/expensive to create useful information • Hard part is to think of what to create • Ubiquity of access • Get access anywhere • Internet search, interactivity, anonymity
The technological world of high school (and earlier) students • Kids unintimidated by technology • Kids are often Webmasters at home. • Kids can set parental controls for parents! • Kids have the time to experiment and explore. • Kids do things on the Internet that are completely different than what parents do. • Extreme multi-tasking • Specialized vocabulary (next slide) • Primarily (or quite often) for social purposes rather than academics or research
ur j/k brb fav def smthg y K bf convo OMG nm hilar sn POS btw ne1 sup? ASL UK? sh bff Example: online vocabulary
ur — You are j/k — just kidding brb — be right back fav — favorite def — definitely smthg — something y — why K — OK bf — boyfriend convo — conversation OMG — Oh, my God nm — nothing much hilar — hilarious sn — screen name POS — Parent Over Shoulder btw — between or by the way ne1 — anyone sup? — What's up? ASL — Age? Sex? Location? UK? — Are you OK? sh — same here bff — best friends forever Translation source: http://www.lingo2word.com/translate.php
Some topics in ethics and safety • Staying safe online • Harassment and hate • Bullying in cyberspace • Breaking and entering • Theft
A news story MySpace: Murdoch's big hope, parents' nightmare Reuters Published on ZDNet News: February 19, 2006, 11:25 AM PT Rupert Murdoch saw a Web site with monster growth potential in MySpace.com, the online music and dating phenomenon that makes it easy for teens to find friends and express themselves. The media mogul's News Corp. paid $580 million for MySpace last July. And even as he figures out how to turn more than 56 million MySpace members into higher Internet revenue for News Corp., there is another concern: the safety of its teen denizens. The phenomenal growth of the Web site and popularity among youngsters has made it a magnet for adult sexual predators, authorities say…
Why? • Predators go where their victims are, and myspace.com draws a young crowd • Myspace.com has: • Pictures to titillate (and identify) • Personal information to exploit • Search capabilities • Anyone can post anything • Good guys (e.g., you) post truths • Bad guys (e.g., predators) post lies • Lots of people with relatively little life experience (a few years vs a few decades) • Instant communication facilities
First name School Sports teams of which you are a member Pictures of self Hobbies and interests If unusual, can be a near-unique identifier Provides approximate location of home Place to observe you Way to identify you on sight Basis for “common ground” based on similar interest Information that is often posted
Example (made up) • First name: Herb • Favorite sports: baseball, hockey • Proudest achievement: hit home run in little league championship game • School: Montgomery Blair HS • From #3, conclude Herb is likely to be on HS baseball team. • From #4, examine HS web page, which probably lists the teams (and has pictures and last names of players) • Google Herb Lin “Montgomery Blair High School” => returns newspaper article indicating a recent hockey game in which Lin scored a goal and also a synagogue newsletter in which the Lin family (Sam and Susan Lin, with son Herb) participated in a fundraiser. • Google Sam Lin, Maryland => returns 7 Sam Lin’s, but only one is near MBHS; includes an address and a phone number.
http://www.teenoutreach.com/entertainment/wwwboard/ubbhtml/Forum28/HTML/002030.htmlhttp://www.teenoutreach.com/entertainment/wwwboard/ubbhtml/Forum28/HTML/002030.html • I hate Muslims too. Those a**holes are going to bring the world into WW3. They are all war-hungry dogs who need to be put down like the rabbid animals they are. They are cowards who deserve to be exterminated. Hitler should have left the Jews alone and gone after Muslims. • IP: 193.60.78.164 • -Dan- • posted August 12, 2004 09:59 AM • -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- • $100000 reward • for the death of all muslims • I do not take this litely, but anyone capable of killing children, diliberatly in cold blood by shooting them repeatedly in the back deserves to die. • There is no allah, only GOD, • GOD bless those innocent children • IP: 80.3.64.5 • BMC • posted September 07, 2004 08:57 PM
We demand the union of all Whites into a greater America on the basis of the right of national self-determination. • Only members of the nation may be citizens of the state. Only those of pure White blood, whatever their creed, may be members of the nation. Non-citizens may live in America only as guests and must be subject to laws for aliens. Accordingly, no Jew or homosexual may be a member of the nation. • The right to vote on the State government and legislation shall be enjoyed by citizens of the state alone. • We therefore demand that all official appointments, of whatever kind, whether in the nation, in the states or in smaller localities, shall be held by none but citizens. • We demand that the State shall make it its primary duty to provide a livelihood for its citizens. If it should prove impossible to feed the entire population, foreign nationals (non-citizens) will be deported. • All non-White immigration must be prevented. We demand that all non-Whites currently residing in America be required to leave the nation forthwith and return to their land of origin: peacefully or by force. http://www.nsm88.com/25points/25points.html
An actual transcript of an IM • devious0suspect (8:11:49 PM): hello • devious0suspect (8:22:07 PM): YOU F***ING C**T AMERICA WASN'T MADE BY F***ING SPANISH C*******ERS • devious0suspect (8:23:01 PM): YOU DARE MOCK THE CHRISTOPHER • devious0suspect (8:24:51 PM): saw your xanga page if you're wondering • devious0suspect (8:25:06 PM): or myspace whatever • devious0suspect (8:26:08 PM): meh i'm blocking you i just can't stand spanish supporters
Why cyberbullying? • Bullying is common behavior • Cyber bullying is particularly tempting: • Anyone with access to a computer can play do it • Cyberspace is anonymous • Bullies can hide behind anonymity and avoid consequences. • Most kids say or do things on a computer that they wouldn’t have the nerve to do in person. • Online communications is often the preferred way for kids to communicate. Teens have embraced IM—74 percent of teens IM, compared to only 44 percent of adults. • Easy to disguise your identity and pose as someone else. For example, anyone can get a Web based e-mail account (hotmail, yahoo), make up a screen name and post or send comments with little consequence.
Responding to hate, harassment, bullying • Take it seriously • Innoculate a student/kid before it happens by describing what might happen • Roleplaying is particularly important • Block communications (temporary solution until another account is used) • Encourage talking to an adult • Try to find out who is doing it. • Search for email addresses, names on the Internet (many kids are not good at hiding information) • Direct retaliation may be harmful/illegal (but publicity may be good)
Posting something illegal (child pornography) Advocating something illegal (bomb the mosque) Advertising something illegal (for great sex/drugs, call me at 703-555-1212) Posting something offensive to large numbers of people (Nazi propaganda) Posting something offensive to small numbers of people (topless pictures of hated classmates) Posting something dangerous to the poster (home address and phone number and security code to the alarm) Impersonating another student Spreading rumors and innuendo Damaging someone’s reputation Talk to kid BEFORE they post (education about what it means to post appropriately) Monitor without comment or other action Talk to kid informally without records to give friendly advice Talk to kid informally with records to give warning Talk to kid formally Report to kid’s parents Sanction kid at school Use filters and surveillance on kids Judgments ActionsWhat if kid is : Teachers/parents could:
Why not emphasize technology and law as solutions? • No silver bullets – kids will always have to deal with this stuff, so you have to teach them how to respond properly • Kids who know how to swim are safer than kids living in neighborhoods without swimming pools.
Some questions • What counts as an open door? • How do you know a door is open? • Is it OK to test to see if a door is open? • If so, what is it OK to do after you have gone through an open door? • Peek inside and leave? • Walk around inside but don’t touch anything? • Look inside closets and drawers but don’t take anything? • Take something but leave money in return? • Take something and not leave anything in return? • Cover up your presence there?
Some questions • What counts as an open door? • Obvious or default passwords? • A secret “easter egg” hack? • How do you know a door is open? • Someone told you? • The web site invites you to provide a key? • Is it OK to test to see if a door is open? • try to guess the password? • If so, what is it OK to do after you have gone through an open door? • Log out immediately? • Look at directories to see what files are present? • Look at files but don’t copy them? • Delete files? • Trash the system?
Why not? • It’s illegal and if you get caught, you pay the consequences. • You deprive someone else of the benefits of their labor and effort, and that is wrong. • Does it matter if you steal atoms or bits?
What would you take without paying for? Does it matter what the “widget” is? • Bracelet from a jewelry store? • Ceramic mug from a craft store? • Automobile? • Software in the box sold in a store or from the Internet? • Music on a CD sold in a store or from the Internet?
What should a student do if he/she.. • Gets a piece of chain mail to pass along to 10 friends or “face death if you don’t”. • Sends an email telling a friend that he/she suspects another classmate stole your iPod. • Is selling contraband on the Internet through eBay. • posts a photo to a Myspace page showing classmates guzzling beer. • Shares non-open source software with friends • Goes to a teacher ranking website and post comments on the teacher’s private life. • Puts up a fake webpage posing as another student
Questions/Comments?Your turn! Herb Lin hlin@nas.edu 202-334-3191