Online Privacy, Government, and Intellectual Property

Rouda’s CSCI 101 class

SPAM Costs

90% of email is SPAM consumes lots of disk space!!! bandwidth?

CAN SPAM Act of 2003The law permits e-mail marketers to send unsolicited commercial e-mail as long as it contains all of the following:

an opt-out mechanism; a valid subject line and header (routing) information; the legitimate physical address of the mailer; and a label if the content is adult

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Can_Spam_Act_of_2003

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Ethics Issues

Web Censorship The US government does not censor content

several anti-web-porn laws have been struck down as unconstitutional

CIPA requires libraries to install filter software

Many Foreign governments do censor web content China and Google

Are ISPs responsible for what their users' post? maybe

Ethics Issues

Workplace Privacy

Question: How much privacy are you entitled to at work? Is your company allowed to read your email? …

Answer: They can do almost anything. It is their office, their phone, their computer, etc.

Legal Issues

Online Privacy

Q: Does shopping online give you more or less privacy than actually walking into the store? more privacy - your neighbors will not see you there

less privacy - online shopping gives the company much more info about you (exactly what you looked at, how long you looked, perhaps other places that you shop, etc…)

Your Digital Footprint Sources of Data about You

1. cookie files what web sites you visit

2. credit cards where you shop

3. preferred shopper programs what items you buy

4. credit history how much money you have, where you live, your age, etc.

Future Sources of Data RFID Tags Cellular GEO-tagging

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Online Privacy ExampleOnline Privacy Example

DoubleClick.com gathers cookie data from advertising banners placed on many web sites

DC can cross-reference data to build profiles of individual users' surfing habits

DC owns Abacus Inc., a consumer database company containing the names, addresses, phone numbers, etc... of 90% of American Households

Google purchased DoubleClick in March 2008 for $3.1 Billion In congressional hearings, Microsoft warned of a potential

monopolistic effect

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DoubleClick

Ethics Issues

Privacy vs. Government

Can, and does, your government spy on you?

Legal Issues

44thth Amendment Amendment

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Katz vs. United States without a warrant, police placed a bug on the

outside of a public phone booth used by Katz to make illegal bets

In 1967, the US Supreme Court ruled Katz's rights were violated. Katz reasonably thought his conversation was

private, hence the recording was an illegal search and seizure

the 4th amendment protects people, not places the 4th amendment governs seizure of tangible items,

as well as recording of oral statements

Legal Issues

Patriot Act allows officials to track emails without showing

probable cause allows roving surveillance for intelligence (not

just crime investigation) tapped device does not have to be owned by the

suspect search warrants no longer have to be served warrants for records do not require probable

cause …

Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to

Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT)

Legal Issues

Intellectual Property

Intellectual Property is any unique product of the human intellect that has commercial value.

For example: books, songs, movies, software

US ConstitutionThe congress shall have the power to promote the progress of science and the useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive rights to their respective writings and discoveries.

Legal Issues

Trade Secrets the invention is private

Patents the invention is public inventor has exclusive rights for 20 years

Trademarks Copyrights

Protecting Intellectual Property

Ethics

• DMI - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwkJR0VJY2w&feature=related

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loXqK6D6lbk&feature=related

Sony vs Universal Studios In 1976, Universal and Disney sued Sony

stating that the Betamax enabled people to copy copyrighted material.

In 1983, the supreme court ruled 5-4 that the private, noncommercial use of copyrighted material is "fair use".

Also, the Betamax machine could copy non-copyrighted as well as copyrighted material.

Legal Issues

MGM vs Grokster MGM et.al. sued because 90% of

Grokster content was copyrighted.

Lower court judge quickly ruled in favor of Grokster. citing Sony vs Universal, Grokster has "substantial non-infringing uses" August 2004

Supreme Court overruled in favor of MGM et.al. "We hold that one who distributes a device with the object of promoting

its use to infringe copyright, as shown by clear expression or other affirmative steps taken to foster infringement, is liable for the resulting acts of infringement by third parties."

June 2005, vote count was 9-0

Legal Issues

Digital Millennium Copyright Act making any copy of a digital copyrighted

work is prohibited eg. making a backup copy of a software application is

illegal (unless the maker says okay).

illegal to possess the technology to circumvent copyright protection technology eg. figuring out how to decode a DVD that you own is

illegal

Legal Issues

Opinion Homework

Is it okay to Is it okay to borrowborrow software software for a short time?for a short time?

Write 3-5 paragraphs with your Write 3-5 paragraphs with your opinion on this subject and opinion on this subject and email them to me at email them to me at roudaj@winthrop.edu roudaj@winthrop.edu

Next Classes…Next Week:

Storing Information image and movie files the defrag program (where is it on a Mac?)

Information Security how viruses and malware work what is a firewall wireless Security

Two Weeks from Today:Midterm Exam