Privacy Protection and the Law
•
Systems collect and
store key data from every interaction with customers to make better decisions
•
Many object to data
collection policies of government and business
•
Privacy
– Key concern of Internet users
– Top reason why nonusers still avoid the Internet
•
Reasonable limits
must be set
•
Historical
perspective on the right to privacy
– Fourth Amendment reasonable expectation of privacy
Information Privacy
•
Definition of privacy
– “The right to be left alone—the most comprehensive of
rights, and the right most valued by a free people”
•
Information privacy
is a combination of:
– Communications privacy
•
Ability to
communicate with others without being monitored by other persons or
organizations
– Data privacy
•
Ability to limit
access to one’s personal data by other individuals and organizations in order
to exercise a substantial degree of control over that data and its use
Key Privacy and Anonymity Issues
Identity Theft
Theft of key pieces of personal information to
impersonate a person, including:
– Name
– Address
– Date of birth
– Social Security
number
– Passport number
– Driver’s license
number
– Mother’s maiden name
•
Fastest-growing form of fraud in the United States
•
Consumers and organizations are becoming more vigilant
and proactive in fighting identity theft
•
Four approaches used by identity thieves
– Create a data breach
– Purchase personal
data
– Use phishing to entice
users to give up data
– Install spyware to
capture keystrokes of victims
•
Data breaches of large databases
– To gain personal
identity information
– May be caused by:
•
Hackers
•
Failure to follow proper security procedures
•
Purchase of personal data
– Black market for:
•
Credit card numbers in bulk—$.40 each
•
Logon name and PIN for bank account—$10
•
Identity information—including DOB, address, SSN, and
telephone number—$1 to $15
•
Phishing
– Stealing personal
identity data by tricking users into entering information on a counterfeit Web
site
•
Spyware
– Keystroke-logging
software
– Enables the capture
of:
•
Account usernames
•
Passwords
•
Credit card numbers
•
Other sensitive information
– Operates even if
infected computer is not online
Consumer Profiling
•
Companies openly collect personal information about
Internet users
•
Cookies
– Text files that a Web
site can download to visitors’ hard drives so that it can identify visitors
later
•
Tracking software analyzes browsing habits
•
Similar controversial methods are used outside the Web
environment
Four ways to limit or stop the deposit
of cookies on hard drives
– Set the browser to limit or stop cookies
– Manually delete them from the hard drive
– Download and install a cookie-management program
– Use anonymous browsing programs that don’t accept cookies
•
Personalization software
– Used by marketers to
optimize the number, frequency, and mixture of their ad placements
•
Rules-based
•
Collaborative
filtering
•
Demographic filtering
•
Contextual commerce
•
Consumer data privacy
– Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P)
•
Shields users from
sites that don’t provide the level of privacy protection desired
Advanced Surveillance Technology
•
Camera
surveillance
– Many cities plan to expand surveillance systems
– Advocates argue people have no expectation of privacy in
a public place
– Critics concerned about potential for abuse
•
Global positioning system (GPS) chips
– Placed in many devices
– Precisely locate users
– Banks, retailers, airlines eager to launch new services
based on knowledge of consumer location
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Freedom of
expression is a principle contained in various human rights documents. Its
objective is to ensure that people are able to communicate and express
opinions, in public, private, either written or spoken, without the
interference of the state or others. It is not an absolute right; therefore it
generally only has applicability where the purpose of expression is lawful, and
where the act of expression does not infringe the human rights of others (for
example, a racist hate speech may not use the right of freedom of expression to
permit its communication). Freedom of expression is one of the main themes
within the emerging field of internet rights. According to the APC Internet
Rights Charter, freedom of expression should be protected from infringement by
government and non-state actors. The internet is a medium for both public and
private exchange of views and information across a variety of frontiers.
Individuals must be able to express opinions and ideas, and share information
freely when using the internet.
First Amendment Rights
•
Right to freedom of expression
–
Important right for
free people everywhere
– Guaranteed by the First Amendment
•
Definition of free speech includes:
–
Nonverbal, visual,
and symbolic forms of expression
– Right to speak anonymously
•
Not protected by the First Amendment
–
Perjury
–
Fraud
–
Defamation
–
Obscene speech
–
Incitement of panic
–
Incitement to crime
–
“Fighting words”
–
Sedition
Defamation
•
Oral or written statement of alleged fact that is:
– False
– Harms another person
•
Harm is often of a
financial nature
•
Slander
– Oral defamatory statement
•
Libel
– Written defamatory
statement
Freedom of Expression: Key Issues
Controlling access to information on the Internet
•
Freedom of speech on
the Internet is complicated by ease by which children can access Internet
•
Communications
Decency Act (CDA)
•
Aimed at protecting
children from pornography
•
Broad language and
vague definition of indecency
•
Found
unconstitutional in 1997
Anonymity on the Internet
•
Anonymous expression
is expression of opinions by people who do not reveal their identity
•
Freedom to express an
opinion without fear of reprisal is an important right in democratic society
•
Anonymity is even
more important in countries that do not allow free speech
•
Played important role
in early formation of U.S.
•
In the wrong hands,
it can be a tool to commit illegal or unethical activities
Defamation and hate speech
•
Hate speech that can
be prosecuted includes:
– Clear threats and intimidation against specific citizens
– Sending threatening private messages over the Internet to
a person
– Displaying public messages on a Web site describing
intent to commit acts of hate-motivated violence against specific individuals
– Libel directed at a particular person
•
Many ISPs reserve right
to remove content that does not meet their standards
•
Such actions do not
violate the subscriber’s First Amendment rights because these prohibitions are
in the terms of service
– ISPs must monitor the use of their service
– Take action when terms are violated
Corporate blogging
•
Some organizations
allow employees to create their own personal blogs to:
– Reach out to partners, customers, and employees
– Improve their
corporate image
•
Blogs can provide
uncensored commentary and interaction
– Criticism of corporate policies and decisions
•
Could involve risk
that employees might:
– Reveal company secrets
– Breach federal
security disclosure laws
Pornography
What is Pornography?
Pornography is the ‘explicit
representation of sexual activity in print or on film to stimulate erotic
rather than aesthetic or emotional feelings.’ The following advice and
help refers only to heterosexual pornography – that is men looking at women
and, more rarely, women looking at men.
It
is helpful to remember that pornography:
• shows women as mere
physical objects and focuses on their breasts and sex organs
• does not even try to show
other ways in which a woman can be attractive, e.g. character, intelligence,
humor
• shows sex as the only
important thing in a relationship between a man and a woman;
• cannot substitute for
long-term love and commitment. It produces short-lived thrills and does nothing
to develop a loving sexual relationship.
It is possible for sexually
explicit material not to be pornographic. For instance, medical textbooks and
sex manuals are designed for education. Pornography differs because its only
purpose is titillation and fantasy.
Soft Core’ Pornography
‘Isn’t ‘soft core’ pornography
okay?’ some say. The implication is that top shelf magazines are harmless, but
that we should be concerned about more explicit or violent material. ‘Soft
core’ and ‘hard core’ pornography have no legal or dictionary definitions. They
are two ends of a continuing line, which starts at bare breasts and genitals
and ranges towards violence, bestiality and child pornography. In recent times
what used to be thought of as ‘hard core’ is appearing in ‘soft core’ top shelf
magazines and is readily available on the Internet. The boundaries are blurred.
Is pornography addictive?
The evidence certainly
points to pornography being addictive for some people. Research in 1999 on
9,265 of internet users found that 8.5% were sexually compulsive or addictive .
Pornography can lead to pain, shame and loss because of addictive sexual
behaviour. Pornography stimulates the pleasure centre in the brain. But after a
while more pornography is needed to produce the same effect. The addictive
cycle is started. There is an increase in intensity in the addiction so that
the individual needs more or harder material to get the same affect, moving on
to the accepting of degrading behaviour (desensitisation) and the ultimate
acting out of images seen in pornography.
Freedom from recognized
addictions like alcohol and drugs can take time and pornography use is no
different.
Some Statistics on Internet
Pornography
In 2007, the estimated value
of the pornography industry worldwide was US$97 billion.
The increase in the number
of times ‘adult sex’ was used as a search term between 2005 and 2006 was 301%.
36% of 9-19 year olds have
accidentally found themselves on a pornographic website when looking for
something else.
A 2006 study estimated 1 in
4 men in the UK aged 25-49 had downloaded pornography in the previous month.
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