CS 99 Final PaperCS 99 Final Paper

The Ethics of Privacy in a The Ethics of Privacy in a Digital EconomyDigital Economy

Jason Gelman

ThesisThesis

Given the complex technical issues, is it possible to hold companies to a higher ethical than legal standard when addressing issues of customer privacy and anonymity? Does doing so hinder competition in the digital economy?

TopicsTopics

• Introduction• Legal Standards• Ethical Standards• Economics, and why computers matter• Enforcement of Ethical Standards• Enforcement of Legal Standards• Conclusions

IntroductionIntroduction

• Anonymity– Nobody can know who

you are when collecting data about you

– You can be intruded upon, so long as it is done so randomly

– You have a reasonable expectation not to be identified by name

• Privacy– Nobody can collect data

about you

– You will not be intruded upon without informed consent

– Your name is tied to your actions, but neither will be available

Legal StandardsLegal Standards

Legal StandardsLegal Standards

• H.R.97. Personal Privacy Protection Act. Stalkerazzi bill. – Prohibits physical intrusion into privacy for commerical purposes (aka press).

Exempts law enforcement. Sponsor: Rep Conyers, John, Jr. (D-MI) (introduced 01/06/99).

• H.R.313. Consumer Internet Privacy Protection Act of 1999. – A bill to regulate the use by interactive computer services of personally

identifiable information provided by subscribers to such services. Sponsor: Rep Vento, Bruce F. (D-MN).

• H.R. 354. Collections of Information Antipiracy Act. – Creates new property rights for owners of databases of public information.

Sponsor Coble, Howard (R-NC)

• H.R. 438. Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999. – Mandates location information for cellular phones for 911. Limits use of

information. Sponsor Rep Shimkus, John (R-IL).

– Measure passed House, roll call #24 (415-2) on 2/24/99.

Legal StandardsLegal Standards

• Standards are being redefined every day

• Congress is generally paranoid about privacy and will tend to over-legislate rather than under-legislate

• There will be some laws passed that infringe upon privacy (cell phone GPS)

• Collection of information is OK, but you need to inform the consumer first (and give a chance for them to refuse).

Ethical StandardsEthical Standards

• ACM (Association for Computing Machinery)– “1.7 Respect the Privacy of Others”

• IEEE Computer Society– Trying to raise the bar

• Societal Standards– We are willing to disclose the same information

in some places and not in others.

Economics, and WhyEconomics, and WhyComputers MatterComputers Matter

• Perfect information is the goal of a capitalist economy.

• Markets thrive on the difference between publicly available and unavailable information

• Adapting on an individual basis• Ability to process information from diverse

sources

Perfect information is the goal Perfect information is the goal of a capitalist economy.of a capitalist economy.

• If supply and demand are known (perfectly) in advance, there is no excess production and there are no shortages

• If other market variables are known, the guesswork is eliminated and products can be better matched to consumers

• Capitalist markets will always (in the absence of government intervention) move to become more efficient

Public vs. Industry InformationPublic vs. Industry Information

• Middlemen are able to increase prices because of inefficient distribution channels

• The internet is able to directly match buyers and sellers– Allows for same profit with less cost to

consumers.

Adapting to IndividualsAdapting to Individuals

• Personality Databases– Allows corporations to know exactly how much

an individual will pay for a certain product– Knows which products an individual wants– Web sites (such as Amazon.com) can offer

customers only the products they are interested in.

Processing Information Processing Information from Diverse Sourcesfrom Diverse Sources

• The establishment of a personality database was not possible until computing matured– Could not share databases– Could not track users’ shopping habits (not just

purchases)– Analysis of databases was not possible in a meaningful way

Enforcement of Ethical Enforcement of Ethical StandardsStandards

• DoubleClick scandal

• Other Advertisers

• Amazon.com’s practices

• Grocery store discount cards and specialty credit cards

• When are standards enforced?

• Why is there no uniform enforcement?– Imperfect information on the part of the public

Enforcement of Legal Enforcement of Legal StandardsStandards

• Privacy infringement vs. loss of anonymity

• Cookie stalkers (is it pertinent?)– Inadequate legal devices in place to pursue

those who invade privacy. Internet cases are treated as real-world cases

ConclusionsConclusions

• We are losing anonymity, not privacy• We have never had privacy• If we want privacy, we need to legislate• Striving toward the perfect market economy is the

impetus for this information collection• There are very few malicious sources-- most

collectors have the intent to offer more personalizes services.

• Government is so far behind that change will come from public pressure, not legislation

THE SOLUTIONTHE SOLUTION

• Disclosure by companies

• Access personal information by individuals

• Companies must come clean about their practices– This will most probably only be accomplished

through legislation or the threat thereof

• It is not possible to hold companies to a higher ethical than legal standard. Any attempt to do so is a farce.

SourcesSources

• http://www.epic.org/pls• http://www.epic.org/privacy/bill_track.html• http://www.nytimes.com./library/tech/00/02/cyber/

cyberlaw/18law.html• Epstein, Richard. The Case of the Killer Robot• http://www.acm.org• http://www.ieee.org