Ethics Presentation

1. EthicsPresentation CIS4328 Sr. Project II Team 2 6-3-2002

2. Team Members: David Ritchey David Stoner Sheldon Snyder Jill Bauer Mary Cook

3. Internet Privacy With Special Concern For Children

4. In a December 2001 Harris Poll Loss of Privacy at 29% was the thing most feared by Americans Terrorism was 2nd at 23%

5. Outline • Invasions of Privacy • Constitutional Basis of Privacy • Current Legislation on Privacy • Have we been here before • History of COPPA • COPPA • Filtering • Ratings

6. Invasions of Privacy

7. INVASION OF PRIVACY • Search and seizure • Unsolicited e-mail • Defamation • Secrecy • Creation of databases consisting of personal information.

8. Search and seizure Without a reasonable expectation of privacy, there is no privacy right to protect. Files stored on disk or tape in the home are protected, but the rule becomes less clear when applied to files stored on an Internet access provider's server. Web servers, on the other hand, may be protected by federal law. Some argue that consent of the access provider, however, is all that is required for law enforcement authorities to search and seize any files in the possession of that access provider. Internet service providers may have a lot of information about the users because servers routinely record information about users' e-mail and web browsing habits.

9. Unsolicited e-mail Unsolicited email is not regulated by federal law at present. Various states have outlawed unsolicited commercial email.  A federal judge in Philadelphia has ruled that companies have no First Amendment right to send unsolicited messages to online service subscribers. Minnesota 5-21-02, Jesse ventura, signed the first Law that sets up punitive damage guidelines for those that have been “spammed”

10. Defamation • Individual states specifically prohibit defamation, no matter what form it takes. Defamation consists of false and unprivileged publication which results in economic damages. Financial loss is not necessary where the statement implies that a person is a criminal or has an unpleasant disease, or which injures a person in respect to his other office, profession, or business. 

11. Secrecy • Trade secrets and other confidential information can also pose legal problems. Unauthorized entry into a computer system is illegal, whether the target machine is connected to the Internet or not. Nevertheless, hackers still manage to get past the most difficult of firewalls. Compromise of company secrets can lead to millions of dollars in damages. Hacking is not the only danger to sensitive information, however. • Some software can tell webmasters which visitors came from which links. In addition, all e-mail has an address attached. Even if the message content is encrypted, system administrators have access to the fact of communication between two parties. The existence of communication can itself often be secret, and the Internet cannot provide absolute security. In many ways, the Internet abhors secrecy. Many netizens believe in an absolute free-flow of all information.

12. Creation of databases consisting of personal information. • A few companies are creating huge databases full of private information. Websites may even collect email addresses inadvertently. In many cases, there is no prohibition on the dissemination of personal information. The federal government regulates only its own databases, leaving private database owners to decide how and when to distribute collected information. • Webmasters use "cookies" as a means of accumulating information about web surfers without having to ask for it. Cookies attempt to keep track of visitors to a Web site. Criticism of cookies has included fear of the loss of privacy. The information that cookies collect from users may be profitable both in the aggregate and by the individual. Whether the convenience that cookies provide outweighs the loss of privacy is a question each Internet user must decide for him or herself.

13. Constitutional Basis of Privacy

14. While the U.S. Constitution does not explicitly use the word "privacy," several of its provisions protect different aspects of this fundamental right. Privacy is considered a “Penumbra Right”

15. Penumbra Interpretation • The Fourth Amendment limits government intrusion into people's private lives. The Supreme Court's interpretations of the Fourth Amendment, however, contain weaknesses that are particularly troubling in the network environment of the Internet. • The First Amendment's freedom of expression and association clause, which protects information about those with whom we associate (e.g., political groups and social organizations), and offers protections for the materials that we create, read, view, etc., in the privacy of our homes • The Fifth Amendment's privilege against self-incrimination, which protects the autonomy of our bodies, thoughts and beliefs • The Ninth Amendment, in which the Supreme Court has found protections for the privacy of our family and reproductive life • The Fourteenth Amendment, which the Supreme Court has also cited as the source of some limits on state government intrusions in the freedom and privacy of intimate decisions that affect our sexual, family and reproductive lives.

16. Current Legislation on Privacy

17. Legislative Protections • Fair Credit Reporting Act (1970) • Privacy Act of 1974 • Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (1974) • Right to Financial Privacy Act (1978) • Privacy Protection Act of 1980 • Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 • The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (1986) • Video Privacy Protection Act of 1988 • Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 • Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994 • Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI) (part of the Telecommunications Reform Act of 1996) • Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) • Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) of 1998

18. Legislative Protections • All legislation has passed not to ensure protection of privacy itself but to calm down constituent fears in specific problem areas as they arise. • This trend needs to stop

19. Have We Been Here Before?

20. Have We Been Here Before? • In 1946, there were 6,000 black and white TVs in the entire country, mostly in well-to-do homes • Three years later, in 1949, there were three million TVs, and, in 1951, there were 12 million. • Today, more Americans have TVs than have telephones

21. Have We Been Here Before? • People argued about whether TV was a tool or a toy • Would it just provide mindless entertainment, or teach our children and bring the world closer together? • People had asked similar questions about the radio, movies, the telephone, and even the telegraph in the 1840s!

22. Have We Been Here Before? • Today, they’re asking the same kinds of questions about computers and the information superhighway. • But the answer is always the same: it isn’t the technology. It is the way people use the technology that makes the difference.

23. Industry Self-RegulationIsNot Enough The Internet Needs Rules No Better Demographic to begin To Protect Than Our Children

24. History of COPPA

25. History OfChildren's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). • In June 1998, the FTC issued its "Report to Congress on Privacy Online" in which it announced the findings of its survey of 1,400 web sites. The FTC found that 89% of the 212 child-oriented web sites it visited collect personally identifiable information directly from children, and only half of them disclose their information collection practices. Fewer than 10% of these sites provide for some form of parental control over the collection of information from their children. The FTC recommends that legislation be enacted which places "parents in control of the online collection and use of personal identifying information from their children."

26. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

27. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). • Only for Children 13 years and younger • Why are Children 14-18 not protected? • No other Demographic currently protected

28. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). • (1) Collection limitation. Data collectors may not collect personal information from children, unless it is relevant, necessary and socially acceptable. • (2) Disclosure. Each data collector must prominently display a privacy statement which discloses what information is being collected or tracked, how it is collected, how it will be used, who is collecting it, and who will use it. • (3) Parental consent. The child must understand that he/she must get parental permission before visiting areas where personal information is collected. The burden is on the collector/tracker to obtain valid parental consent.

29. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). • (4) Use specification/use limitation. Personal data should not be disclosed, made available or otherwise used for purposes other than those specified in the disclosure statement. • (5) Data quality and security. Personal data should be protected against loss, unauthorized access, destruction, use, modification, or disclosure. • (6) Parental participation: access, correction and prevention of future use. The data collector must provide access to the information it has collected about the child. It must also allow the parent the ability to correct erroneous data, have data deleted, and/or prevent further use.

30. Filtering

31. Filtering A number of products are available which, when installed in the personal computer, block access to web sites containing objectionable material. Some products also prevent access to the computer during specified hours of the day. Others provide parents a log of the web sites visited by their children. And some prevent access to such web services as Internet Relay Chat.

32. Filtering • Cyber Patrol: www.cyberpatrol.com • Cyber Sitter: www.solidoak.com • Net Nanny: www.netnanny.com • Safesearch: www.safesearch.com • SurfWatch: www.surfwatch.com • Web Chaperone: www.webchaperone.com • X-Stop: www.xstop.com

33. Features to look for in filtering software • blocks "outgoing" transmission of personal information such as name, address, phone number • limits access by time of day and total amount of connect time • clearly states its criteria for blocking sites, and allows parents to read a list of blocked sites • has user-definable options, allowing customization of blocked sites • allows user to turn software on and off with password control • is updated frequently • blocks image files (JPEG/GIF) and binary downloads, likely to contain photos and graphic images • blocks transfer of compressed files likely to contain adult content (ZIP and SIT) • filters offensive language • blocks gopher and FTP (File Transfer Protocol) downloads • blocks Internet Relay Chats (IRCs) and Usenet Newsgroups • works with online service providers like AOL, Prodigy, and MSN • works with rating systems like PICS and RSACi

34. Filtering Software Problems • None of these software programs has been proven entirely effective when put through a set of controlled tests. • Product testers have found that filtering programs often block access to sites with legitimate non-obscene speech, for example the word "breast," which can be found on the American Cancer Society's web site pages concerning breast cancer. • In addition, reviewers are critical of software products which do not disclose the list of keywords used to block web sites. • A further criticism of filtering software is that it can be difficult to install and can cause the computer to operate more slowly.

35. Ratings

36. Ratings • One such system has been developed by the Recreational Software Advisory Council, called RSACi • Originally created as a rating system for computer games, it is the most widely used PICS rating system to date. • RSACi allows Internet web site publishers to describe the levels of sex, nudity, violence and harsh language, with five levels within each category.

37. Ratings • SafeSurf, www.safesurf.com • NetShepherd www.netshepherd.com. RSACi and SafeSurf rely on web publishers to self-rate their web sites. NetShepherd conducts third-party rating of sites.

38. Problems with Ratings • Self-Regulated • No way to keep a Universal Standard that every website can agree on.

39. Thank You for Your Time The End