Ethics
-the study of what it means to "do the right thing"
-assumes that people are rational and make free choices
-neither of these conditions is always and absolutely true
Deontological theories
tend to emphasize duty and absolute rules, to be followed whether they lead to good or ill consequences in particular cases
Immanuel Kant
-Deontologist
-3 ideas of ethical theory
-Principle of universality: we should follow rules and behavior that we can apply to everyone
-logic or reason determines rules of ethical behavior (actions are intrinsically good because they follow from logic)
-o
Utilitarianism
-John Stuart Mills
-guiding principle: to increase overall happiness
-applies to individual actions
Act Utilitarianism
For each action, we must consider the impact on utility and judge the action by its net impact
Rule Utilitarianism
Applies the utility principle not to individual actions, but to general ethical rules
Natural Rights
John Locke
-A set of fundamental rights of others including the rights to life, liberty, and property
-implies ethical rules against killing, stealing, deception, and coercion.
John Locke
-natural rights
-argued that we each have an exclusive right to ourselves, our labor, and to what we produce with our labor
Negative Rights
-liberties
-rights to act without interference
-only obligation they impose on others is not to prevent you from acting
-i.e. the right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness, freedom of speech and religion, etc
-in other words, the government can to
Positive Rights
-claim rights
-impose and obligation on some people to provide certain things for others
-i.e. the positive right to life means that some people are obligated to pay for food or medical care for others who cannot pay for them
Free stuff
-basically the idea that nothing is really "free"
-i.e. libraries are "free" but are paid for with taxes
-advertising pays for free websites and apps
-Craigslist charges fees in some cases
-"free" stuff on the internet can sometimes result in malware on y
Fourth Amendment
-sets limits on the government's rights to search homes and businesses and to seize documents and other personal effects
-requires probable cause for search and seizure
Key aspects of privacy
-Freedom from intrusion-being left alone
-control of information about oneself
-freedom from surveillance (from being followed, tracked, watched, and eavesdropped upon)
Privacy Risks
-anything we do in cyberspace is recorded
-huge storage space-companies and gov't can save lots of data
-people are not aware of the collection of info about them
-software is complex; most people don't know what the software they use collects and stores
Re-identification
identifying the individual from a set of anonymous data
Personal information
any information relating to, or traceable to, an individual person
Informed consent
when a business informs people about its data collection and use policies, each person can decide for themselves whether or not to interact with that business
Invisible information gathering
collection of personal info without the person's knowledge
Secondary Use
the use of personal info for a purpose other than the one for which the person supplied it
Cookies
files a website stores on a visitor's computer
-the site stores and then uses the information about the visitor's activity
Data mining
Searching and analyzing masses of data to find patterns and develop new information or knowledge
Computer matching
combining and comparing info from different databases, often using an identifier such as a person's social security number or their computer's internet address to match records
Computer profiling
analyzing data to determine characteristics of people most likely to engage in certain behavior
Opt-out
one must check or click a box on an agreement or contact the organization to request that they not use a person's info in a particular way
Opt-in
the collector of the info may not use it for secondary uses unless the person explicitly checks a box or signs a form permitting the use
Fair information principles
-inform people when you collect info about them, what you collect, and how you use it
-collect only the data needed
-offer a way for people to opt out from secondary uses
-keep data only as long as needed
-maintain accuracy of data
-protect the security o
Right to be Forgotten
the right to have material removed as a legal or ethical right
-as a negative right: means that you can stay off the internet but you can't stop others from posting about you or force them to remove something you are in
-as a positive right: can mean that
Privacy Act of 1974
-restricts the data in fed gov't records to what is "relevant and necessary" to the legal purpose for which the gov't collects it
-Requires gov't agencies to publish a notice of their record systems in the Federal Register so that the public may learn abo
E-Government Act of 2002
added some privacy regulations for electronic data and services
REAL ID Act of 2005
attempts to develop a secure national identification card by setting federal standards for driver's licenses
-requires that, to get a federally approved driver's license or ID card, each person must provide documentation of address, birth date, social sec
Free Market View
emphasize the freedom of the individuals to make voluntary agreements
-diversity of different tastes and values
-flexibility of technological and market solutions
-the usefulness and importance of contracts
-the flaws of detailed or restrictive legislatio
Consumer Protection View
-focus is to protect consumers against abuses and carelessness by businesses and against their own lack of knowledge, judgement, or interest
-support laws prohibiting the collection of personal data that could have negative consequences
-support opt-in po
1st Amendment
freedom of speech and press
Telecommunications Act of 1996
-removed any artificial legal divisions of service areas and many restrictions on services that telecommunications companies may provide
-clarified the question of the liability of Internet Service Providers and other online service providers for content
Communications Decency Act of 1996
main parts of the internet censorship law were ruled unconstitutional b/c too vague and broad
-federal judge stated that the internet is the most participatory form of mass communication
-attempted to avoid conflict with first amendment by focusing on chi
Free speech principles
-written for offensive and/or controversial speech and ideas
-restriction on the power of government, not individuals or private businesses
-advocating illegal acts is legal
-does not protect libel or direct/specific threats
-inciting violence is illegal
Child Online Protection Act of 1998
-federal crime for commercial websites to make available to minors harmful material by FCC standards
-found to be unconstitutional b/c gov't did not show that COPA was necessary to protect children
Children's Internet Protection Act of 2000
-Requires schools and libraries that participate in certain federal programs to install filtering software
-upheld in court b/c does not violated first amendment since it does not require the use of filters, impose jail, or fines
-sets a condition for rec
Net Neutrality
refers to a variety of proposals for restrictions on how telephone and cable companies interact with their broadband customers and how they set charges for services
-whether the companies that provide the communications networks should be permitted to exc
CAN-SPAM Act
-applies to emails sent to computers and mobile devices
-targets commercial spam and covers labelling of advertising messages (for easier filtering), opt-out provisions, and methods of generating emailing lists
-commercial messages must include valid mail
Intellectual property
-the thing protected is the intangible creative work, not its particular physical form
-protected because people would lose incentive for producing it
-protection of intellectual property has individual and social benefits: it protects the right of the ar
US Copyright Law
-can make copies of the work
-produce derivative works, such as translations into other languages or movies based books
-to distribute copies
-to perform the work in public
-to display the work in public
Patents
protects inventions by giving the inventor the monopoly for a specified period of time
-differ from copyrights because they protect the invention itself, not just the expression or implementation of it
-laws of nature and mathematical formulas cannot be p
1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)
-anticircumvention: prohibits the making, distributing, or using tools (devices, softwares, or services) to circumvent DRM systems used by copyright holders
-safe harbor: protects websites from lawsuits for copyright infringement by users of the site
Fair Use Doctrine
-allows uses of copyrighted material that contribute to the creation of a new work (such as quoting part of a work in a review) and uses that are not likely to deprive authors or publishers of income for their work
-fair use does not require permission of
White hat hackers
-use their skills to demonstrate system vulnerabilities and improve security
gray hat hackers
-use methods of questionable legality or who publicize vulnerabilities before informing the system owners
Honey pots
websites that look attractive to hackers set up by security professionals so that they can study and record everything the hackers do on the site
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA)
-it is illegal to access a computer without authorization or to exceed one's authorization
-covers government computers, financial systems, and computers used in interstate or or international commerce or communication
-also addresses altering, damaging,
identity theft
-describes various crimes in which a criminal uses the identity of an unknowing innocent person
phishing
-in the case of emails
-sending millions of messages fishing for information to use to impersonate someone and steal money and goods
smishing
-in the case of text messaging
-sending millions of messages fishing for information to use to impersonate someone and steal money and goods
vishing
-voice phishing
pharming:
-involves planting false internet addresses in the tables on a DNS that lead the browser to a counterfeit site set up by the identity thieves
Biometrics
-biological characteristics that are unique to an individual
-include fingerprints, voice prints, face structure, and DNA
-used to catch criminals
computer modeling
-they vary in quality
-computations done on a computer to model a complex physical process in detail often takes more time than the actual process takes
-very difficult to make them reliable and efficient
Neo-Luddite
-people who oppose technological progress
Digital Divide
-refers to the fact that some groups of people (the "haves") enjoy access to and regularly use the various forms of modern information and technology while others (the "have-nots") do not
Therac-25 Case Study
-software-controlled radiation therapy machine used to treat people with cancer
-gave massive overdoses to 6 patients at 4 different hospitals
-in some cases, the operator repeated the overdose because the machine's display indicated that no dose had been
Denver Airport failures
-computer-controlled baggage-handling system that cost $193 million caused the delay
-during tests, carts crashed into each other at track intersections. the system misrouted and, dumped, and flung luggage
-2 main causes:
*the time allowed for development
Professional Ethics
-includes relationships with and responsibilities towards customers, clients, coworkers, employees, employers, people who use one's products and services, and others whom one's products affect
ACM Code of Ethics
-understand what success means
-include users in the design and testing stages to provide safe and useful systems
-do a thorough, careful job when planning and scheduling a project and when writing bids or contracts
-design for real users
-dont assume exi
Software Engineering Code of Ethics
-8 principles
-public : software engineers shall act consistently with the public interest
-client and employer: software engineers shall act in a manner that is in the best interests of their client and employer consistent with the public interest
-produ