AUTHOR

László Fekete
Budapest University of Economic Sciences and Public Administration
Department of Philosophy
1828 Budapest, POB. 489.

ABSTRACT

At the beginning of the net, the systems operators had the power to control the content and the fair communication and to enforce the consensual rules of the small and informal communities of netizens in order to prevent offending messages and any unlawful use. The law and the conduct in the cyberspace seemed to be more tolerant, prudent and effective than their earthly counterparts. This practice worked quite effectively and successfully by the mid-1990. Because of the development of the network as an economically and culturally productive space of the global communication, more and more laic and religious groups (for example, the Church of Scientology, the American Family, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the Christian Coalition, etc.) as well as the governments of the United States, the European Union, the Low Countries, Germany, and New Zealand – to mention a few – have been worried by net speech, unwarranted intrusions, and the abuse of the freedom of speech since the mid-1990’s. As the above-mentioned list demonstrates the cry for censorship comes from public and private sources. The first attempt to put the freedom of speech under the control of some kind of public morality was the Communications Decency Act attached to the Bill of Telecommunication (1996) in the United States. This amendment to a telecommunications reform finally was turned out to be unconstitutional. The privatization of the Internet makes this issue, especially, sensitive. Because no government does have right to transfer the jurisdiction of the court to the communication service providers. This would have been the case if had the Communications Decency Act passed. The arguments of the defenders of the freedom of speech are based on the First Amendment and the constitutions of the democratic societies as well as the notion of the knowledge-based society.

In this paper I want to give an overview of the different attempts, made by governments and international political organizations, of controlling the contents of information. And I argue against any political control and restriction. In addition, in the knowledge-based society, where the new communicative culture begins to be formed and the driving force of the economic growth comes from the communicatively distributed knowledge, the freedom of speech and the free access of information have outstanding importance.

AUTHOR
N Ben Fairweather

ABSTRACT

This paper re-examines the nature of privacy in an age when technology is having fast-moving effects on levels of privacy. The pitfall of conflating the question of the appropriate extent of privacy with the question of what the concept means is highlighted. Drawing on the logical distinction be-tween associative privacy and informational privacy, it is concluded that it is not appropriate to talk about privacy as a property that is either present or absent tout court. Rather, privacy is a matter of degree, with the amount of privacy being determined in large part by how many people and organisations know things about the individual. The paper looks at the relationship between twenty-first century technology and surveillance. The technological limits of the twentieth century are shown to have made many inappropriate invasions of privacy difficult (but not impossible). Twentieth century technology caused surveillance to be limited by the ability of humans to process the data generated. In the twenty first cen-tury, information and communications technologies (ICTs) have enabled the processing of data to be automated, breaking the twentieth century limit on surveillance, and making some kinds of surveillance much easier even than for Orwell’s fictional Big Brother. Now the resources dedi-cated to the collection of privacy-relevant data can be much reduced, while the capacity to process such data is much increased. In a sense we have entered an age of Bigger Brother. However, the increased collection of data and processing capacity do not necessarily mean a reduction in privacy. The paper concludes that there is hope for privacy protection between when data is processed according to the purposes for which it was collected, and when any possible information resulting from the col-lection of the data might be revealed to recipients who might infringe privacy in an unacceptable way.

AUTHOR
Dr. Jenny Davies

ABSTRACT

Despite the many definitions in existence for the term profession, it is difficult to derive a clear conceptual category. Pavalko (1971) invokes the notion of a continuum between occupation and profession. Where a particular work activity is situated on the continuum depends upon its adherence to eight traits, one of which is “sense of community”, considered to be high in professions. This is manifested as a sense of common identity, a distinctive culture with shared values and norms which can be used to exert control over the behaviour of members. To this aim, many professions have highly developed codes of ethics, which are also used to reinforce to clients and the public the notion of the service ideal, and the standard to be expected.

The question arises how do novices learn behaviour appropriate for their work group? The professions possess long training periods during which socialisation begins, continuing after entry into the profession, through formal mechanisms such as codes of ethics, licensing regulations and appraisal, and informal mechanisms such as colleagues expressing disapprobation.

The paper will review former academic studies which examine socialisation amongst professional groups during the training period. A historical review of engineering will be undertaken comparing the British nineteenth century system of pupillage with a consultant engineer or engineering company, followed later by apprenticeship and study at night class for admittance to the engineering professional bodies, with the degree programmes of the later twentieth century containing a taught element of engineering ethics. Further comparison will be drawn with the German system of engineering education based on the Technischen Hochschulen. By reference to the history of the education of labour for the software industry the socialisation of computer scientists, specifically software developers, will be placed in the context of the professions, in particular engineering.

However, we are now in a post-industrial society, characterised by a rise in the service sector, very large scale organisations and globalisation. It could be argued that old occupational models are no longer relevant; society is now based on a professional ideal, as against the entrepreneurial ideal of previous industrial society (Perkin, 1989). The organising principle of such a society is specialised expertise, and it is based on trained and certified expertise out of the ordinary, selection by merit and similarly trained experts, social ascent through ability and education, and mastery of a skilled service vital to fellow citizens. The present systems of educating computer scientists in occupational norms and standards, which have evolved from those of nineteenth century engineering, will be superseded. Models will be proposed of the future direction for the inculcation of computer scientists into the norms of the industry, including an evaluation and potential of the present systems of teaching computer ethics.

REFERENCES

• Pavalko, R.M.: Sociology of Occupations and Professions (Itasca, Illinois: F.E. Peacock) 1971.
• Perkin, H.: The Rise of Professional Society (London: Routledge) 1989.

AUTHOR
Göran Collste & Jan Holmqvist

ABSTRACT

Computer ethics studies how computerisation and information technology influence values in different parts of society. A presupposition is that technology in different ways, both directly and indirectly, intended and not intended influence society. This means that in order to investigate the value impact of technology one has, in an imaginative way, to relate the technology to the social context where it is implemented. Studies like that of Stanley Reiser (medicine) and Sherry Turkle (children’s use of computers) shows that new technology can influence social practices and value systems in unexpected ways.

In this paper we focus on the relation between ICT and democracy and democratic values. IT can be related to democracy in many ways. It can be used as a mean to create new channels between elected politicians and people, it can facilitate voting procedures etc. However, we will examine the relation between ICT and democracy in two contexts: a school context and a global context.

According to the public rhetoric, ICT is a mean to realise democracy and democratic values both in schools and in the global context. But is that true? The thesis that we argue for in this paper is that the relation between ICT and democracy is much more complicated that the public rhetoric assumes.

In schools the realisation of democracy is often understood as a realisation of democratic values such as the autonomy of the student, equality between sexes, human rights and so on. But school can also have a mission in preparing students for living in a country with a democratic system, for example giving them opportunities to develop those personal qualities that are essential in a democratic society. A single school can let itself be a mirror of the democratic society and organise its internal work in a democratic way. In these efforts, it is said, ICT can be used as a tool. In order to evaluate this view of ICT as an instrument for democracy, at least two questions have to be asked. The first question has to do with the best way for school to embody democratic values. What are the most important democratic values for school to embody? The second question has to do with the possibility of ICT to embody democratic values. Is ICT really a good tool for the realisation of democratic values such as freedom, equality etc in schools?

In answering these questions one can examine the intended consequences in relation to democracy and democratic values. But one also has to consider the unintended consequences. Although, ICT can be used to enhance the freedom of the students, there might also be other effects, for example limiting communication among students that will work against democracy and democratic values.

In a famous speech in 1994, Al Gore argues that the Global Information Infrastructure (GII) is a mean for spreading democracy in different ways, in fact, according to Gore, GII is a metaphor for democracy itself. However, the relation between ICT and democracy at a global level is probably more complicated than Gore assumes. In order to discuss this relation one has to distinguish between different aspects of democracy and contextualise these. Although democracy contains some universal values, as for instance protection of human rights and a principle of a right to influence the decisions that affects ones interests, the possible forms of democracy differs, as do the value context of the democratic institutions.

When examining the relation between ICT and democracy, one has to take into consideration the intended consequences of ICT as well as the unintended. For example, through Internet people living in totalitarian states will have access to uncensored political information. This will probably enhance a democratic development in these states. At the same time the Internet is transmitting western values and western life styles that may conflict with the values and lifestyles that are important in a specific cultural context. There is obviously a risk that IT is not only a mean to enhance democratic values, but also a mean for western dominance and hegemony.

In this paper we investigate and compare the relation between ICT and democratic values in school and globally. In doing so, the paper will refer to theories of democracy and democratic values and also to theories about the relation between technology and values.

AUTHOR

Serena Chan
Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge,
MA 02139

L. Jean Camp
Kennedy School of Government
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA 02139

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we will study the evolution of telecommunications technology and its impact on law enforcement surveillance. Privacy and the need for law enforcement to conduct investigations have not been at the center of the recent public policy debate, rather corporate efforts at data surveillance have been the core. Yet unlike corporate surveillance, law enforcement surveillance can be and is intrusive and approved in policy environments. Thus police and state surveillance are different topics, and law enforcement surveillance deserves particular attention. The recent installation of Carnivore, a classified packet sniffer, on American networks by the American federal law enforcement agency illustrate the importance of considering law enforcement surveillance as a separate category.

The growth of interception is a result of technological improvements, which have drawn more and more valuable traffic into telecommunications channels. The means by which we communicate (e.g., telegraphy, telephone, electronic mail, and video conference) have expanded due to technological changes. As a result of being able to listen in on those communications (e.g., wiretaps), spying on communication channels becomes increasingly rewarding for governments, businesses, and criminals. Laws cannot change these facts. Communications are inherently interceptable and digital technology has increased this interceptability. Conversely, law enforcement agencies will continually face challenges in maintaining their electronic surveillance capabilities in the future as new communications technologies and services are developed. Ultimately, to create the foundation for good policy we must be aware of many factors, including technology, cryptography and electronic surveillance, the aims and practices of intelligence and law enforcement agencies, and the history of society’s attempts to deal with similar problems over the previous centuries. Policies need to be technology-neutral in order to withstand the further evolution of telecommunications technologies and services.

The bandwidth exchanges operating on the coasts of the United States illustrate that surveillance policies in the United States will effect citizens in the Pacific Rim and the European Community. We will illustrate that the US government has historically tried to increase its power of search, despite the gradual acceptance of the basic human right to privacy. US government surveillance will have an increasing impact because of globalization as much international traffic may travel across American network wires. European traffic travels across the East Coast while Asian traffic travels across the West Coast when US bandwidth is more available than that overseas. Rather than curtailing law enforcement surveillance activities per se, policy in the US has emphasized privacy protection of individuals. Thus, the traditional assumption is that when individual privacy is protected government surveillance activities would be kept in check.

We will discuss surveillance practices preceding the widespread adoption of electronic means of communication in the areas of United States (US) postal mail, telegraph, and telephone communications, as well as physical surveillance. We will also analyze surveillance in the area of encrypted telephony and the Internet (e.g., e-mail) in the United States. From the examination of these cases, we will see that not only is there the much-heralded convergence of telecommunications channels, but also a resulting convergence of jurisdictions.

We will conclude with a discussion of privacy principles on which to build a coherent technology-neutral policy for law enforcement surveillance of electronic information. We will analyze how a such US-based digital surveillance standard might comply or conflict with European data protection principles. In particular we argue that the telecommunications industry assist law enforcement agencies in their interception needs instead of the government implementing their own surveillance techniques. Such a practice will create a window of transparency whereby law enforcement requests for communications are documented and the transfer of data can be observered. The increasingly private nature of networks offers promise that an increasing transparency of dataflow to law enforcement is possible. We further conclude that ensuring the privacy of the individual in the market is not adequate for ensuring the privacy of the individual with respect to law enforcement; however, such marketplace privacy is a pre-requisite for citizen privacy. Finally we argue that the European Principles for Data Protection offer an excellent foundation on which to build technology-neutral standards for surveillance; although given the uniquely and necessarily intrusive nature of law enforcement surveillance the Principles are not themselves suitable.

AUTHOR
Jesús Díaz del Campo, P. Barroso and John Weckert

ABSTRACT

In recent years, Schools of Informatics have begun to introduce studies in ethics, to the extent that this subject matter has become an essential part of the curriculum of students in this field. At this stage, the debate concerning the appropriateness of incorporating instruction in human and social issues into studies involving high technology careers appears to have subsided. No branch of learning, even in technological fields, can consider itself neutral since all professional activity has social consequences. This has enhanced the importance of the presence of Deontology in the subject matter offered to the future informaticist, particularly since a number of studies have demonstrated that the system of values of a student, regardless of the discipline, changes after he or she has attended classes in Ethics.

However, the range of approaches to this subject in the different schools is enormous, depending basically on the teaching staff, the department that organizes the instruction and the student receiving it. The authors of this report studied the present situation in Australia and Spain, two countries that are extremely different from one another, to determine who should teach the Ethics and Deontology of Informatics, as well as what, how and where, when and to whom it should be taught.

With respect to who, the available literature does not lead to any consensus. For some authors, under ideal circumstances, the instructor should hold a doctorate in philosophy with additional training in informatics. In contrast, others contend that the professor should be an informaticist with knowledge of philosophy. Each side provides arguments for and against one of the other stands, only to conclude that, in any case, it is evident that both types of professionals should be prepared to impart these classes, having had the proper training.

To examine two of the most interesting questions dealt with in this study, the aspects of what and how, it was necessary to gather the opinions of both instructors and students. The tools employed for this purpose consisted of surveys, one designed for each group of subjects, based on the titles of 25 lectures and 18 teaching techniques.

The first is composed mainly of a list of the major themes found in deontological codes, and is based on the analysis and actual application of the principals most frequently mentioned in the literature, including such subjects as ‘Access to information and absence of discrimination’, ‘Copyrights: no to software plagiarism and piracy’, ‘Professional integrity of the informaticist (refusal of bribes)’, ‘Respect for intimacy and privacy on the part of the informaticist’, ‘Professional solidarity of the informaticist’, ‘Avoidance of conflict of interests on the part of the informaticist’, ‘The use of only licit and legal means on the part of the informaticist’, etc. On the other hand, the survey concerning teaching methods focuses on 18 techniques, including: ‘Analysis of case studies’, ‘Didactic lectures’, ‘Small discussion groups’, ‘Interviewing of professionals by students’, ‘Guest lectures’, etc.

Among other results, these surveys enabled the authors to observe and analyse the possible similarities and differences in two countries separated by vast geographical and cultural differences, as are Australia and Spain, with respect to:

• the concept of this course.
• students and instructors, taking into account the fact that most similar studies overlook the opinion of the students, a factor that the authors took into consideration given the probable existence of significant divergence between the real situation and the expectations of the student population. For example, with respect to teaching methods, in several previous surveys, the authors have observed that students prefer the study and analysis of actual cases over didactic lectures. This reflects the classical debate as to whether it is preferable to stress theoretical teaching or practical training. The existence of these earlier experiences also enabled the authors to observe the changes in attitude exhibited by the students over the course of time.

The issues concerning where, when and to whom are also analysed in the context of each of these two countries, since there is no clear consensus with respect to the stage at which the course should be offered and how many credit hours should be granted, or, on the other hand, whether it should constitute a complete course, an introductory course or a seminar.

Finally, and above all, the main conclusion gathered from this examination of students, instructors and school administrators confirms the original proposal, that Deontology should be a required course, mandatory for the academic training of the informaticist, rather than the exclusive patrimony of private or church-affiliated universities.