Ch05

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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


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