“Britain Weighs Proposal to Allow Greatly Increased Internet Snooping ”

1. “Britain Weighs Proposal to Allow Greatly Increased Internet Snooping ” Article By:Anthony Faiola and Ellen Nakashima Presentation By: Dedric Guest

2. Summary • British government is considering a proposal to allow the government to examine the text messages, phone calls, e-mails and Web browsing habits of every person in the country • This proposal set to be presented in Parliament later this year is sparking an uproar over privacy in Britain, fueling a debate over the lengths to which intelligence agencies should go in monitoring citizens • Government officials say the new powers are critical to countering terrorism and other threats in an era of fast-changing social media

3. Ethical Decision-Making • Describe Ethical Issue • Should British government be allowed to pas a law that would grant ability to examine the text messages, phone calls, e-mails and Web browsing habits of every person in the country? • Who are the involved parties and what do you believe they want accomplished? • Britain’s intelligence agencies want the passages of this new bill • Government officials wants to continue to be able to keep British society safe and successful in the Internet age. • Citizens of Britain do not want there rights and privacy to be infringed upon by the idea of this new law. • Different Solution • The government passes the law despite citizens concerns of privacy • The proposal is shut down with out government consideration. • The proposal is restructured to both address the security concerns of the government and the privacy concerns of the public. • This is the solution that I feel is best.

4. Ethical Decision-Making Cont. • Solution Evaluation • I think it is very important to have many different types of measures in place to protect the citizens against any possible security threats • But on the other hand, free access to everyone’s private information like emails, text messages, and phone records is a bit reckless. • There is definitely middle ground that could be reached with regards to this proposal. For example, the information can be granted with probable cause and a warrant. • Nature of Solution • This solution would still allow the government to some access to private information of the public. • Private information would only be accessible if the security of the public is at risk. • Would this Solution be popular? • This solution would be popular with some but not all. Some would be ok with the proposals as long as their security not threaten. Others would prefer privacy no matter the reason.

5. Ethical Decision-Making Cont. • Solution Commitment • Regardless of whether it would benefit me personally, this solution is one that I feel most committed to because it would produce the greatest good for the greatest number of people • Philosophy of Decision • The philosophical belief system that was most influential in my solution is Realism. • Due to the tremendous rise in technology, I think it is important to realize that the security of a nation can be threaten by any means. Also, it is very imperative to the safety of many for the government to get any type of advantage .

6. ACM Code of Ethics • The proposed solution of this ethical dilemma would upholding the following • 1.1 Contribute to society and human well-being. • 2.8 Access computing and communication resources only when authorized to do so. • The proposed solution of this ethical dilemma could possibly undermined the following • 1.7 Respect the privacy of others.