Computers and Society (P. I)

5 Lectures Covered: Ethics, Privacy, Freedom of Speech, Professional Ethics, Work

Claim rights or positive rights…

(a) are rights to act without interference
(b) are guaranteed in the First Amendment
(c) impose an obligation on some people to provide certain things for others
(d) all of the above

c

Which of the following is an example of a negative right or liberty?
(a) freedom of speech, as provided in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution
(b) freedom of religion, as provided in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution
(c) the right to use your labor, skills or mind to create goods and services
(d) all of the above

d (the right to act without interference)

When a person visits a Web site, their IP address and the links they clicked on are automatically recorded. This is an example of

(a) secondary use
(b) invisible information gathering
(c) data spillage
(d) data mining

b

A mid-west grocery store discovered that when men buy diapers, it's usually on Thursdays and Saturdays, and quite often, they also pick up some beer. So, from marketing standpoint, it makes sense to move display of diapers closer to where the beer is and charge full price for those items on those days. This is an example of

(a) secondary use
(b) invisible information gathering
(c) data spillage
(d) data mining

d

Direct association with a person's name is not essential for compromising privacy. This is because __________ is fairly easy to due to the quantity of personal information stored and the power of data search and analysis tools.

re-identification

The Privacy Act of 1974 established rules to regulate

(a) private sector databases only
(b) all databases that contain personal information
(c) all personal information, including surveillance data
(d) Federal government databases only

d

A cookie is

(a) a feature of a Web site designed to attract children
(b) an illegal use of information about a customer
(c) a file that a Web site stores on a visitor's computer
(d) a small reward that can be redeemed on a Web site

c

If a business follows an "opt-in" policy for handling personal data, information about a customer

(a) may not be released under any conditions
(b) may not be released unless the customer gives permission
(c) may be released unless the customer requests that the information be kept private
(d) may be released for any legitimate business purpose

b

The Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) said that

(a) international electronic communications must be filtered through a single hub.
(b) agents of a foreign power may be wiretapped with authorization from a secret court
(c) telecommunications equipment must be designed to allow the interception of telephone calls (with a court order)
(d) email should have the same degree of legal protection as telephone calls

c

The legal guidelines for determining whether material is obscene include all of the following EXCEPT

(a) the material depicts particular sexual (or excretory) acts specified by state law
(b) the material is patently offensive according to contemporary community standards
(c) the material has no serious artistic, literary, social, political, or scientific value
(d) the material is intended for or distributed to persons under the age of 18

d

Which of the following requirements was a key provision of the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA)?

(a) proof of age must be provided to access Web sites containing pornography
(b) children must not be allowed to access "hate material" online
(c) filtering software must be installed on Internet terminals in schools and libraries
(d) commercial Web sites must require parental consent for access by children

c

Anonymizers allow a user to

(a) obtain a new identity
(b) send email and surf the Web anonymously
(c) secretly spy on people visiting your Web site
(d) randomly create a handle or avatar

b

Which of the following are the two main arguments against the Communications Decency Act accepted by the courts?

(a) it was not enforceable, and it did not use the least restrictive means of accomplishing the goal of protecting children
(b) it was too vague and broad, and it did not use the least restrictive means of accomplishing the goal of protecting children
(c) it was too vague and broad, and it did not use community standards to determine what would be harmful to minors
(d) it was not enforceable, and it did not use community standards to determine what would be harmful to minors

b

Which of the following limits deceptive commercial email and outlines spammers' responsibilities:

(a) the Spam Reduction Act
(b) the Electronic Communications Act
(c) the Commercial Communications Act
(d) the CAN-SPAM Act

d

Which of the following is NOT a provision of the CAN-SPAM Act that applies to commercial emailers?

(a) It bans false or misleading header information.
(b) It requires that unsolicited email give recipients an opt-out method.
(c) It requires that commercial email be identified as an advertisement and include the sender's valid physical postal address.
(d) It requires commercial emailers register with the Federal Trade Commission.

d

Which of the following is an example of biometrics:

(a) DNA
(b) Fingerprints
(c) Voice prints
(d) All of the above

d

Which of the following reasons for monitoring email, voice mail, and computer files is considered legal?

(a) Protect security of proprietary information and data
(b) Investigate complaints of harassment
(c) Prevent personal use of employer facilities if prohibited by company policy
(d) All of the above

d

The practice of hiring companies or employees in other countries is known as:

(a) Offshoring
(b) Globalization
(c) Downsizing
(d) None of the above

a

Ken Olson, president of Digital Equipment Corp. in the late 1970's, Thomas J. Watson, chairman of IBM in the early 1940's, and Thomas Edison all made predictions about technology that were extremely wrong. Which of the following explains why the predictions of experts are often so far off?

(a) Lack of imagination about the uses people would find for technology
(b) Lack of imagination about what the public would like
(c) Lack of imagination about what the public would pay for
(d) All of the above

d

In one application of a voice-recognition system, the system failed to recognize female speakers. A likely reason was

(a) The program was specifically designed for men
(b) Women's voices are inherently harder to recognize
(c) Women do not speak as loudly as men, and the system used inferior microphones
(d) The program was primarily developed and tested by men

d

Which of the following is NOT a principle for producing good systems?

(a) Understand what success means
(b) Include users in the design and testing stages
(c) Be open and honest about capabilities, safety, and limitations of software
(d) Overestimate the costs and time a project will take

d

According to the Freedom on the Net 2024 report, which of the following is a key tactic used to manipulate online information during elections, as highlighted in the report?

(a) Promoting digital literacy
(b) Enhancing encryption technologies
(c) Censorship and content manipulation
(d) Encouraging open-source software development

c

What role does Freedom House suggest tech companies should play in safeguarding internet freedom?

(a) Prioritizing government requests for user data without question.
(b) Minimizing their role in content moderation.
(c) Refusing to cooperate with law enforcement agencies.
(d) Protecting users' rights and preventing the spread of harmful content.

d

(T/F) In Olmsted v. United States (1928), the U.S. Supreme Court interpreted the Fourth Amendment to apply only to physical intrusion.

True

(T/F) In Katz v. United States (1967), the U.S. Supreme Court determined that the government needs a court order to intrude where a reasonable person has a reasonable expectation of privacy.

True

(T/F) In Kyllo v. United States (2001), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that when the government uses a device that's not in use by the general public to 'see' things it could not without intrusion, that is a 'search' and requires a warrant.

True

(T/F) Accelerometers help robots stay upright.

True

(T/F) Broadcast media traditionally has had the strongest First Amendment protection (meaning the fewest regulatory restrictions) while print media has the weakest First Amendment protection.

False

(T/F) Net Neutrality would prevent telecommunications companies from giving preferential treatment to specific content providers or types of content.

True

(T/F) The Supreme Court’s decision on mandatory content filters in public libraries could be seen as a less restrictive alternative to censorship.

True

(T/F) The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that requiring content filters on public library computers was unconstitutional.

False

(T/F) Computer matching, refers to the practice of targeting advertisements to individuals based on their demographic profiles, purchase histories, and other specific, identifiable attributes.

False

(T/F) Stakeholders are the individuals and organizations who would be affected in some way by an ethical dilemma.

True

(T/F) It is safe to turn on file sharing settings on your computer when connected to public Wi-Fi.

False

(T/F) The USA PATRIOT Act (2001) gives individuals more protection from governmental intrusion.

False

(T/F) The Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets (1968) explicitly allowed wiretapping and electronic surveillance by law enforcement agencies with a warrant.

True

(T/F) Wikipedia relies upon an advertising-based business model.

False

(T/F) Now, average human knowledge is doubling every 24 months.

False

(T/F) Google Drive scans for files that may contain viruses.

True

(T/F) Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) prohibits interception of email and reading stored emails without a court order, but makes an exception for business systems.

True

(T/F) Researchers are developing brain-computer interfaces to enable severely handicapped people to control appliances with their thoughts.

True

(T/F) It is always wrong to lie would reflect the utilitarian theory of ethics.

False

(T/F) A Turing Test determines the strength of an encryption method.

False

(T/F) A feature of high reliability organizations is loose structure.

True

(T/F) Software designers should include users in the design stages.

True

(T/F) Professional ethics requires professionals maintain their skills.

True

What are the three key aspects of Privacy?

1. Freedom from intrusion

2. Control of information about oneself

3. Freedom from surveillance

What are two ways free services on the web are paid for?

1. Use ads on the website to generate revenue

2. Collect info about online activities and sell it to advertisers

What are two unexpected uses of social networking?

1. Advertising for businesses/politics and using the media to get donations

2. Posting embarrassing material as well as stalking through social media

Two key problems arise from new technologies are

1. Much of our personal information is no longer safe in our homes; it resides in huge databases outside our control

2. New technologies allow the government to search our homes without entering them and search our persons from a distance without our knowledge

Fair Information Principles

• inform users when collecting data & offer a way to opt out

• collect only the data needed & keep only as long as needed

• maintain accuracy of data

• protect security of data

• develop policies for responding to law enforcement requests for data

According to Freedom House estimates:

• Pressure on independent experts in the United States has left people less informed about influence operations ahead of the November 2024 elections.

• Companies such as Meta and X restricted access to platform activity data, making it harder for fact-checkers and independent researchers to analyze the information landscape.

• Internet access restrictions on social media platforms affect nearly half of the world's online population.

A negative right is also known as a _________________.

liberty

Deontological Theory

based on morality of an action rather than the consequences; emphasize duty and absolute rules, to be followed regardless of consequences

Utilitarianism Theory

considers most positive outcome; should consider the consequences and calculate the change in your utility, or happiness, that it will cause you

Personal Information

any information related to an individual

Turing Test

if the computer convinces the human subject that the computer is human, the computer is said to "pass"

Informed Consent

users being aware of what information is collected and how it is used

Invisible Information Gathering

collection of personal information about a user without user’s knowledge

Data mining

searching/analyzing masses of data to find patterns and develop new information or knowledge

Computer matching

combining and comparing information from different databases

Re-identifaction

identifying the individual from a set of anonymous data

Computer profiling

analyzing data to determine characteristics of people most likely to engage in certain behavior

net neutrality

refers to how telephone/cable companies interact with their broadband customers and setting fees for services

outsourcing

company pays another company for services instead of performing those tasks itself

inshoring

when another company employs people in the US (opposite of offshoring)

least restrictive mean

not interpreting evidence as is; to give a chance; not chill expression

Safe Harbor Plan

requires the company to make mandatory contributions to the plan participants through a match or non-elective contribution

EU Data Privacy Directive

• more strict than US

• safe harbor plan

• prohibits transfer of personal info to countries outside EU that don’t have adequate privacy protection

FCC (Federal Communications Commission)

regulates communications