Ethics in Information Technology Chapter 5 Freedom of Expression
First Amendment Protects Americans’ rights to freedom of religion and freedom of expression Freedom of speech - Nonverbal, visual, and symbolic forms of expression Right to speak anonymously
Does not protect: Perjury and fraud Defamation and obscene speech Incitement of panic and incitement to crime Fighting words and sedition 2
Obscene Speech Miller v. California Established a test to determine if material is obscene
Speech can be considered obscene if the: Average person finds that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest Work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by the applicable state law Work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value 3
Defamation  Statement of alleged fact that is false and that harms another person  Slander: Oral defamatory statement  Libel: Written defamatory statement
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Controlling Access to Information on the Internet Telecommunications Act: Purpose was to allow freer competition among phone, cable, and TV companies Communications Decency Act (CDA): Title V of the Telecommunications Act that aimed at protecting children from pornography Section 230 of the CDA: Provides immunity to an Internet service provider (ISP) that publishes usergenerated content Provided its actions do not rise to the level of a content provider 5
Controlling Access to Information on the Internet • Child Online Protection Act (COPA): Imposes penalties for exposing minors to harmful material on the Web Ruled as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court
Internet filter: Software that blocks access to certain Web sites that contain material deemed inappropriate or offensive Uses a combination of URL, keyword, and dynamic content filtering
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Controlling Access to Information on the Internet Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) Requires federally financed schools and libraries to block computer access to obscene material, pornography, and anything else harmful to minors Criticisms Transferred power over education to software companies who develop the Internet filters Some filters are ineffective Penalties resulting in a loss of federal funds would lead to a less capable version of the Internet for students at poorer schools 7
Internet Censorship Control of the publishing or accessing of information on the Internet Forms Limiting access to certain Web sites Allowing access to only some content or modified content at certain Web sites Rejecting the use of certain keywords in search engine searches Tracking the Internet activities of individuals Jailing individuals for their Internet use 8
Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) Employed by corporations, government officials, and others against citizens and community groups who oppose them on matters of public interest Anti-SLAPP laws: Designed to reduce frivolous SLAPPs Quickly identify if there are any merits to the lawsuit, helping keep lawyer fees to a minimum
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Anonymity on the Internet Anonymous expression • Opinions expressed by people who do not reveal their identity Doxing • Examination of Internet records in order to reveal the identity of an anonymous poster Anonymous remailer service • Strips originating header and/or IP number from emails before sending the message to its intended recipient 10
John Doe Lawsuit Filed by an aggrieved party against a defendant whose identity is temporarily unknown Because he or she is communicating anonymously or using a pseudonym
Plaintiff can request court permission to issue subpoenas to command a person to appear under penalty If permission is granted, subpoenas can be served on any third party that may have information about the true identity of the defendant 11
John Doe Lawsuit When the identity becomes known, the complaint is modified to show the correct name of the defendant Subpoena should be enforced only if: It was issued in good faith and not for any improper purpose The information sought related to a core claim or defense The identifying information was directly and materially relevant to the claim or defense Adequate information was unavailable from any other source 12
Hate Speech Persistent or malicious harassment aimed at a specific person Most ISPs reserve the right to remove content that does not meet their standards Public schools and universities follow the First Amendment as they are agents of the government A U.S. citizen who posts material on the Web that is illegal in a foreign country can be prosecuted if he subjects himself to that country’s jurisdiction 13
Pornography There is no clear agreement within the courts on whether local or national community standards are to be used to judge obscenity Companies must take reasonable steps to prevent pornography in the workplace Establish and communicate an acceptable use policy that prohibits access to pornography sites Identify those who violate the policy and take disciplinary action against them
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Pornography Possession of child pornography is a federal offense punishable by up to five years in prison Some states require computer technicians who discover child pornography on clients’ computers to report it to law enforcement officials
Sexting: Sending sexual messages, nude or seminude photos, or sexually explicit videos over a cell phone Sexters face prosecution for child pornography
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Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing (CAN-SPAM) Act Specifies requirements that commercial emailers must follow when sending messages to advertise or promote a commercial product or service Key requirements From and To fields in the email and the originating domain name and email address must be accurate Subject line of the email cannot mislead the recipient as to the contents or subject matter of the message If the message contains sexually-oriented material, the phrase “SEXUALLY-EXPLICIT” must appear in capital letters in the subject line 16
Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing (CAN-SPAM) Act Email must be identified as an advertisement and include the sender’s physical postal address Emailer must provide a return email address to enable the recipient to request no future emails Emailer must honor an opt-out request in 10 days
Additional rules prohibit: Harvesting of email addresses from Web sites Using automated methods to register for multiple email accounts Relaying email through another computer without the owner’s permission 17
Summary First Amendment protects the right to: Freedom of religion and expression
Does not protect obscene speech, defamation Key issues Controlling access to Internet information, especially for children Anonymous communication Spread of defamation and hate speech Access to pornography CAN-SPAM Act limitations on email messages 18