Session 6

1. Session 6 Ethics, Rights and Privacy

2. Debate • Split into three groups – left, right & centre • Take 15 – 20 minutes to prepare your arguments • group to my left – “why employees should have access to the internet for personal use during office hours” • group to my right - “why employees should not have access to the internet for personal use during office hours” • group in centre – you’ll be the judges – consider both sides of the discussion • hint – think laterally • you are to argue your case – your personal feelings are irrelevant – the object is to win the debate! • Each side gets 5 to 10 minutes to present and then 5 minutes for rebuttal • Left and right groups - choose your speakers – two per side – one each for presentation and rebuttal • Five minutes for middle group to adjudicate - you will decide –based on who puts up the better argument – not on who you agree with

3. The Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics • Thou shall • not use a computer to harm other people • not interfere with other people's computer work • not snoop around in other people's computer files • not use a computer to steal • not use a computer to bear false witness • not copy or use proprietary software for which you have not paid • not use other people's computer resources without authorization or proper compensation • not appropriate other people's intellectual output • think about the social consequences of the program you are writing or the system you are designing • always use a computer in ways that ensure consideration and respect for your fellow humans • Computer Ethics Institute (1992)

4. Privacy • We disclose information about ourselves whenever we sign up to internet services • Organisations and governments expose us – Google Streetview – potential security threat • Social networking sites – Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo … • Oftentimes companies share your information without you knowing it - Opt-in vs Opt-out • Opt-in : you must tell the company whether or not it may share your information • Opt-out : the company may share your information unless you tell them not to

5. The buck stops … • Where does the buck stop? • If we want privacy in the workplace, we should be careful with our personal information • keep personal information off your work PC? • use Gmail, not Outlook • On a home computer? • what do you do about your data when you take your PC to be repaired? • how do you know they aren’t accessing your sensitive private data? • Be careful what you post on social networking sites • Whenever you do something, consider how you would feel if it made it into the Sunday Times.

6. Whose responsibility is it? • In many instances the employer is accused of being unfair, restrictive, snooping, etc • If employees’ were responsible in the way they used the internet and didn’t : • didn’t hog the company’s bandwidth • spend unreasonable amounts of time on private emails, facebook and personal Internet usage such as Utube and personal “research” • harass, stalk and abuse others • forward group mailings • the problem might not even exist!

7. Access to information … • Access to information has become essential – trade, health, business, private, urban & rural • Access to the internet is now an essential part of our lives • Should access to technology be a right? • Can we achieve an equal society while there is unequal access to information? • Should this right extend to the workplace? • Is it the employer’s responsibility to facilitate this access - 24x7?

8. What constitutes theft in the workplace?

9. What constitutes theft in the workplace? How about time?

10. Cyber Slacking • No one knows exactly how much time users spend on personal web surfing at work, but the figures are certainly high. • A study by AC Nielsen suggests that Australian employees waste an average of 6,8 hours per week on non-work Internet access – that’s nearly 20% of their working time. • It is management’s responsibility to prevent employees from abusing their Internet access in this way … by drafting an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). • Mike Lewis • Who pays for this: • The employee? – not likely other than by way of reduced bonuses/profit share • The employer? - certainly • The client? – almost certainly • The shareholder? - certainly

11. What rights do employers have? • To what level of privacy is the employee entitled? • Think - Google, Facebook, Twitter, email • Prior to email, correspondence was committed to paper and filed – who owned that file? • Should an employer have access to your email – to whom do the messages belong? • Should employees be allowed to use their work computers to look for another job? • When might an employer’s actions constitute stalking? • Is the employer entitled to know about your partner? • … and vice versa

12. The digital divide • In its 2011 survey of South African households, Stats SA found that just 9.8% of South African households had access to the internet at home. • With the spread of smart phones and other hand-held devices that can access the internet, the International Telecommunication Union, a United Nations affiliate responsible for ICT, estimates that the number of households with at least one member able to access the internet from home has risen to 18% South Africa Communications Forum ( 1 June, 2012)

13. This means that … • Around 80% of the population can only access the internet from school or the workplace ! • Should this influence company policy on private usage of the internet usage for private purposes? • Is there a social obligation on companies to provide access to the internet to their employees? • If so, how might this effect: • productivity? • privacy? • infrastructure costs and speed?

14. What happens if access is not provided? • Employees : • become disgruntled • Take time off to do what could otherwise be done on the internet : • shopping and retail research • banking • communicating • job hunting • Which is preferable: • use work PC for a few hours of private use, or • take a day’s sick leave to do the same?

15. Consequences? • Consequences of providing access to the internet at work for private use include, inter alia: • Cyber-slacking, cyber-harassment and poor netiquette • Circulation of jokes and other unproductive stuff • Web browsing • Utube, video and music downloads • Kills productivity • Kills bandwidth • Creates resentment by employees who believe they are carrying the load • How are companies meant to deal with this challenge?

16. Formulating policy • How do employers limit unreasonable access to the net • during office hours? • after office hours? • Should software filtering be utilised? • What about privacy – does the employer have the right to know what the employee is viewing and / or downloading • What is appropriate Netiquette in the work environment? • Should the policy be “one size fits all” and apply equally to all staff? • The lines are becoming blurred – cell-phones during working hours – talking, emailing, surfing and texting

17. Policy considerations • Draft internet usage policy is the combined responsibility of HR and IT – must protect employee and employer • Distinction between work and personal use • Educate users about malicious software that can be inadvertently downloaded • Rules need to be formulated to protect employees for accessing material that could have legal ramifications • Problems arise with access to instant messaging, personal email accounts, social networking sites, auction sites, etc - excessive use of these sites leads to cyber-slacking • One option is to allow access during specific times - lunch breaks and after work • Access to the Internet is a privilege, not a right • Any correspondence sent from a company email address should be treated as a professional document even if it just a one-line reply - once it has the company details attached to it, it is represents of the company

18. Despite Internet Access Policies (IAP), U.S. businesses are facing a severe problem. • More than 60% of companies had disciplined - and more than 30% had terminated - employees for inappropriate use of the Internet. • Accessing pornography, online chatting, gaming, investing, or shopping at work were the leading causes for disciplinary action or termination. • Many companies were not concerned about the severity of the problem (49.6%) or had done little to enforce their IAPs. Lost in Cyberspace: The Web @ Work (Greenfield & Davis 2004)

19. Who would have thought : • A propensity for Internet addictiveness can be screened for in the during the pre-employment screening process. • Procrastination, impulsivity, and social rejection have been identified as key elements of problematic Internet use. Davis, Flett & Besser 2004

20. Copying of Software • Is copying of commercial software theft? If so, • We all agree that programmers should be paid, so we accept there is an inherent value in the software … • So, why do people do it? • Why would most of those same people never steal anything physical from their place of work or from a shop?

21. Development Issues • Remember our discussion on “smoke & mirrors” • How should IT developers account for their time? • How do we measure productiveness and productivity when we can’t see the program’s internals? • How do we bill a programmer’s time out fairly? • private calls • comfort breaks • smoke breaks • assisting other programmers • messing about on the internet • How do we prevent programmers from stealing IP, stealing software, etc?

22. Question • One of your IT teams is working on a complex algorithm that they are having problems with • A team member says he has worked on a similar algorithm for a previous employer and he has a copy of the code which he is prepared to share with the team • What is your response?

23. Now, you know that your main competitor is working on a similar problem and is in fact on top of it What is your response?