1: http://www.business.com/guides/business-ethics-basics-21726/

Donna LindskogCanadian Information Processing Society (CIPS)

The Ethics of Privacy and Censorship

The Ethics of Privacy and Censorship

Donna C. LindskogSask 3.0 Summit

April 25, 2011Regina

Ethics defined a branch of philosophy that involves

systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior.¹ Involves:› Articulating the good habits that we should acquire,› The duties that we should follow› Or the consequences of our behavior on others

We are constantly faced with ethical decisions moment to moment, day to day. ²

[We need to] support our ability to reinforce our own inner wisdom as well as help others around us reflect. ²

1: http://www.iep.utm.edu/ethics/2: http://coopcatalyst.wordpress.com/2011/05/16/fostering-ethics-requires-practice-mindfulness-for-all-ages-guest-post-jennifer-sertl/

All CIPS members (including students) agree to abide by theCode of Ethics and its ethical principles/imperatives:

1. Protecting the Public Interest and Maintaining Integrity;

2. Demonstrating Competence and Quality of Service;

3. Maintaining Confidential Information and Privacy;

4. Avoiding Conflict of Interest; and5. Upholding Responsibility to the IT Profession.

Ethics statements

Identify what ethical imperatives / principles are relevant to the situation

Begin to generate alternative actions and examine probable outcomes

Reflection (feelings and intuitions) Determine action plan Take action

At any time: request interpretation or clarification from CIPS¹

Procedural Ethics

1: Understanding the code of ethics, http://www.cips.ca/ethics

What this means to you

Review actions day to day Consider how this impacts others Look at Risks and Rewards for all

parties Talk to other professionals Speak on behalf of what is best for all

Speak on topics where you are expert:e.g. the Internet

Privacy

Facebook gives notice as it defaults your security to “everyone” Google gives notice as Google search

gets default SSL security¹ but not secure to advertisers.

transparent does not always mean ethical ²

1: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/google/google-search-gets-default-ssl-security/34072: http://www.informationdiet.com/

Transparency How good is this estimate?  How much risk is there that

the project will overrun?  What are the open questions that will make this estimate change the most?

How good is this design?  Is it “futureproof” or will new technologies soon require an upgrade or rewrite or leave holes for hackers? Will it work well with other software in your architecture, now or in the future?

How well was this tested?  We know there will be bugs.  How can they check for them?  How major can a failure be?  What plans do they need if this does not work?

Where did this data come from?  How was it calculated?  How accurate is it?

Who can see this data?  Are there any back doors or defaults that may cause security problems?  How much does security / privacy depend on the people running the processes?

Anonymous content

The right to keep who you are private? How do we tell who posted Child porn? Value of an opinion nobody admits to? Risk: no way to verify rights to content,

or ensure behavior is ethical Reward: important (in countries) where

speaking out has dire consequences, encourages free speech

SOPA and PIPA

American bills that allow censorship.  The Stop Online Piracy Act (any site)and

the PROTECT IP Act (site with sole purpose the distribution of infringing content) are two very similar bills.

REWARD: Piracy costs studios $25B / year¹ RISK: Free Speech, user-generated content

, digital media investors, US Gov’t control of the internet

ACTA

Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement an international treaty of 39 countries –

Canada joined 2011 (thus Bill C-30) Internet Service Providers legally

responsible for their subscribers Reward: Less impact from Piracy Risk: no public input from 2006 until

2008 when discussion papers were leaked by Wikileaks, Policy laundering, ISP monitoring (privacy and cost concerns)

DMCA

legislation already in place. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (1998). Illegal anti-circumvention technology & Safe

Harbor for content hosts REWARD: piracy made harder, cleanup

without legal fees RISK: can’t discuss flaws in security

technology? Copyright holders must monitor everywhere, Creators can’t defend their works,

My Granddaughter

Business Ethics require that a minimum of social

responsibility be met¹ treating people with respect and

dignity, and being honest in your business dealings. ¹

However, the priorities of individuals differ from the priorities of a business, therefore the ethics upheld

vary from company to company.²

1: http://www.business.com/guides/business-ethics-basics-21726/2. http://www.business.com/guides/business-ethics-key-terms-33375/

What makes IT different?

We are experts in Information Technology which is not understood by most business

We work on the World Wide Web We have computing values:

› Openness› Reuse› Generative:

Build on previous ideas› Permissionless› ???

Case Studies needed Discussion on LinkedIn under CIPS group From Sean Heuchert (Ontario):

"Case Studies in Information Technology Ethics" by Richard A. Spinello. 1996

“helped me find my ethical centre”

Let’s use them to continue this discussion “to reinforce our own inner wisdom” .

Thank-you!

Questions? Discussion? Cases?