Still Looking for Questions
Tech-Ethics questions aren't pouring in yet, but the two presenters plan to meet next week to discuss what they'll cover. Anyone else want to jump in on topics? So far all I've passed along is your interest in hearing a little more about the downloading issue.
Here's a question? What does it take to steal someone's identity? What does that even mean? I'll give you a hint: it's more than just grabbing that person's visa number from an online transaction and buying stuff illegally.
Each of you plans on going to college. Think about the amount of information stored on college campus servers. What kinds of protections would you want on university information relating to you?? We're talking about more than just grades, here, by the way.
How about the fact that text messages, phone calls, emails and web searches are routinely stored on large servers, and that the government and other agencies are pushing for permission to access info from these sources? What limits would you hope to see placed on their rights to cull through these records?
On another note: Anyone willing to comment on this article from The Washington Post about the rise and fall of sites like MySpace? Are you still spending hours on it or are you completely "over it" at this point?
Speaking of which... what would you do if your least favorite acquaintance posted a terribly unflattering (or even doctored) photo of you on their MySpace? What if that person slandered you, claiming you'd been arrested or gotten pregnant? What if the info got passed along to Mrs. Aronowitz? your parents? Yale's College Admission Office?
Ahhh. If only honesty, respect and responsibility were universals.
posted by ctorg @ 8:49 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Yes, I know I'm not a current student, but I'm bored and no one hath yet commented here, so I'm just going to say my piece, and maybe someone will read it and mayhaps it will spark some lively debate for the upcoming forum.
My beliefs on the issue of theft are fairly well known, but I'm going to restate them for those who don't actually know them: I find theft to be the most vile, disgusting act on this planet, even more than murder. I don't know why, I just get rather angry whenever I hear a theft. As such, I am in favor of very, very harsh penalties for theft, up to and including immense fines (typically running in the 1000% range), corporal punishment, and the death penalty for particularly large thefts. I haven't ever had anything stolen from me, but if some pickpocket got ahold of my wallet, I would probably make him beg for the traditional Sharia punishment for theft. If I caught someone trying to break into my car...
Anyway, this leads into identity theft. Certain types of identity theft (such as credit card fraud) would be punished the same way a cash theft would be. Theft of information would be a little different - it would depend on what was "stolen" (perhaps "acquired" would be a better word, since information can't really be "stolen) and how it was used. Blackmail, for instance, is a crime I equate with theft - instead of having your property removed from your possession against your will, it's removed voluntarily, but through coersion. Information used in order to gain an advantage of a sort, such as information leading to insider trading, I'd punish the same way as insider trading.
Why do I consider this such a big deal? Identity theft damages the freedom of people to use the Internet - would you put money in a bank run by the Mafia? It is like theft, only potentially worse, with greater consequences. As such, I'd treat all identity thieves devestatingly harshly, especially if I were a victim (I do believe in vigilante justice and retribution).
There are ways to protect onesself and one's identity. For instance, the only information on the Internet about me is stuff that could easily, easily be acquired anywhere, like my name, my address, and my e-mail address. However, I don't post any personal details on the internet, except of a vague nature (for instance, that I wear a lot of dark colours). Limit the availability of information on the Internet, so as to make it difficult to have that information stolen. Limit the usefulness of that information, as well.
Also, keep the amount of official documents to a minimum. The only official documents I own are a driver's license, a social security card, and my draft registration card - everything else is committed to memory, or consolidated in one place that's virtually impossible to get to. I also only have one credit/debit card, that I guard to an almost paranoid degree. With less to be stolen, I'm in less danger.
Now, the issue of legal protection of electronic information. I'm an egoist, and I support whatever policy is best for me. As such, if there was reasonable evidence that someone was trying to kill me (some terrorist), I'd want them searched completely. I believe in a rather loose policy of search and seizure, as a result - however, as a check to that, I believe that any case must be proven without any doubt. I can't really describe what I'm trying to say, so I'll produce an extreme example - just because someone has a copy of the Anarchist's Cookbook, or the Turner Diaries, and they have a poster on their wall that says "Avenge Waco," does not mean that they can be convicted of a crime; something like a phone conversation where they said "so, tomorrow we blow up X," combined with bomb-making equipment, a detailed plan made out, and a ton of Astrolite sitting in their garage would be necessary. I'm sure you understand what I'm trying to say - stricter rules regarding conviction, along with looser rules regarding investigation. I wouldn't be bothered if the government discovered that, say, I visited 7,750 web sites of a less-than-savory nature - they just don't care about that stuff, nor details about personal relationships, or political affiliations, or whether someone likes Westerns or not (the latter should be a crime!). I just haven't seen any evidence of a misuse of personal data by the government, and I don't think we'll ever see one - these warnings of police states and New World Order are the result of paranoids. I could go on for days about police states, but that's a seperate issue. I just don't see any evidence that there's any danger involved with slightly looser rules regarding investigation of personal materials, and I'm the guy who got searched because some kid thought I was building a bomb in my basement.
However, as for other agencies (I suppose "agencies" is meant to refer to corporations and the like), if I caught someone searching through my papers who didn't have a warrant, I would remove them from the premises in the most efficient and violent manner allowable by law, and I would make them cry like a little boy. If a non-government agency wants information, they had better ask for it, because otherwise, they should be made to suffer. I'm the type of guy who'd shoot at paparazzi, and I see nothing wrong with that.
As for personal blogs, I am happy to say I've only ever owned one, and that was only because it was a site that required me to register in order to view posts, and someone had asked me to read one of theirs. I just don't see any reason to own a blog of any sort, partly because I can just code what I want to say on my own web page, partly because I have nothing to say. I don't see why people use these things - I can contact whoever I want using a variety of methods (IM software is a bit of a vice of mine, as I typically run about 4 at any one time, but I always use fake information for them). What is there really to say? If you really have to post stuff so your friends will find it and be able to react to it, I don't think much of them as friends. Maybe I'm just too introverted, I don't know. That's just my opinion on blogs and thier ilk. As for the issue of some companies searching blogs and using them as part of the hiring process, I say fine (if you post information into the public realm, you reap what you sow), but I wouldn't use any information found on blogs for the hiring process unless it were relevant, and I would weigh the information carefully (I'm not going to assume that someone may be a racist, just because they happened to post a potentially sensitive joke on their blog). Also, the time since the posting must be taken into account - if I had kept a political blog throughout my life, I could be described as a Democrat, a Republican, a Libertarian, an Anarcho-Capitalist, or a political egoist, depending on which posts they read.
Finally, speaking of slander on a blog, or a fake photo, I would sue the offender so fast, a lawsuit form might as well come with the "Post!" button. Slander is illegal, whether on the Internet or not. I'd just hope anyone who found the fake information would maintain the basic principle that something must be proven before it is assumed to be true.
That's my take on the subject. Hopefully, this will spur some debate among those who will actually be at the forum.
Oh, I'd also like to post my viewpoint on illegal downloading of music and other media - I hate it, and would fully support affected industries prosecuting pirates, and I would also fully support them using some sort of mega-virus attacking downloaders that would destroy their computers. No, I don't care if some kid downloaded files onto their parent's computer, or a company computer, or even some school computer somewhere - keep those kids away from the computers they don't need to be on, and maintain some sort of method to prevent downloading at school, along with some sort of punishment (pay for the computer?). I will never become a parent, but if I had a child who downloaded music illegally, I would remove all non-essential access to a computer for several years - heck, I might just get them a typewriter and tell them that's what they can write essays on from now on. I'd probably go a bit farther with the punishment, too - maybe the Ultragrounding.
And yes, I am a former pirate. I've repented (I'm sure the RIAA was surpised at that check).
Hey Caspian! Thanks for joining in. Particularly if you're willing to voice your reasoned opinions so forcefully (even if I don't always agree with your logic). Let's assume, though, for a moment that readers don't know you. Would you be willing to clarify why you now feel so strongly about the problems with downloading? Might be especially useful to hear from you on this since you admit you did your fair share when you were a student here. What exactly changed your mind?
I have been meaning to get around to commenting here for a while, but now while I have a spare moment I will. I will put some questions in bold, or at least attempt to hope that the HTML tags will work....
I have three main items I would like to touch on. I shall also try to organize my thoughts. Well here it goes……
The first issue: MySpace, Facebook and social networking sites
My thoughts: Personally, I will never start any kind of account with any kind of these websites. My reasons for doing this are simple. Predators, identity thieves and whole host of other misfits frequent these social networking sites. My friends will tell you I am a security freak (I check and lock all open doors and windows before I go to bed….) , and I just do not like giving away any information about myself on any internet website known to be used by the kinds of people I seek to avoid and protect myself from. Secondly, you do not know who may be reading your comments. As Ms. Torg says, who knows may be reading what you post? I was reading Money magazine last month (yes I am crazy like that) and came across an article about MySpace and its affect on future employers. The article says, in a nutshell, that your future employers will hire people to do background checks on you, and those people will look into your past, including your MySpace. The article gave examples of this too. I am trying to dig that article back up, and will post a link to it if I find it. The conclusion was, for me at least, that MySpace and its cousins were a risk I was not willing to take.
My Questions for the Tech Ethics speakers:
1. What are, realistically, the risks of My Space and other social networking sites like it?
2. Should My Space and its compatriots be held responsible for stalkings, rapes and other unfortunate situation that happen as a result of its user’s interactions on their websites?
The second issue: Government Surveillance
My thoughts: This is a hot button issue of today, and this is also where my views may differ from those of the wider York community. As we have come to know, the National Security Agency, has a program in place that taps into the electronic communications between US citizens and their communications to suspected terrorist contacts abroad. This program, I might note, has been in place since the Clinton Administration. The tech ethics questions surrounding this program are obvious. Personally, I believe in the old saying: “if you have nothing to hide you then you have nothing to fear” applies in this situation. I believe the government has every right to be tracking and recording any type of communication an US citizen makes to suspected terrorists or criminals abroad. I could not care less if the government was reading my emails, or listening to my phone calls or VOIP communications with my friends, I am not planning terrorist acts nor am I contacting terrorists abroad in any way. Again: “If you have nothing to hide you then you have nothing to fear”. To those opposed to this program I say this: Weigh the risks. The government is not going to care about the phone call or email you send to your girlfriend. They will care more about the terrorists emailing or phoning instructions on how to build a dirty nuclear bomb or release on how to release a chemical into your city’s main water supply. Weigh the risks yourself. Personally, I am willing to trust the government on this one, and hope for my own safety, and for the safety of my fellow Americans the Domestic Surveillance Program continues well into the future.
My Questions for the Tech Ethics speakers:
1. Should the electronic communications of the citizens of the US be monitored for possible ties/suspicious activity with hostile foreign nationals? Are their legal grounds to do this? What checks (if any) should be put on this system to make sure no abuses occur? Who should administrate this program to ensure maximum effectiveness and timely use of intelligence collected?
2. What are the benefits/drawbacks you see to this system? What is the actual effectiveness of this system?
The third issue: Piracy
My thoughts: From the start, I used to pirate things. After I had some one sided discussions with my parents about such things however, I stopped. As a result of my experiences, I believe piracy is not only wrong but is illegal. Piracy, is just another kinder word for stealing. For all those of you who pirate things, let me tell you exactly what you are doing. You are hurting our economy. Yes, I know, but one song won’t hurt will it? But what if it grows to two, and then three and then 10, 20, 30…. Where does it end? Pretty soon you are pirating games, like UT2004, and then on to +$1000 applications like Adobe Photoshop, and cad programs…. What happens then? I personally know people, who have pirate not just a few songs, but thousands of dollars in software. These people are doing nothing more than stealing out of the pockets of people like the hardworking programmers, developers and publishers who put out this software. Personally, I would like to see felony criminal charges brought against the worst piraters and pirating rings. So people please think what you are doing when you pirate, no when you steal, something, remember that no matter what you steal, your action could affect a real person somewhere in the world.
My Questions for the Tech Ethics speakers:
1. Should pirating music/software using a computer have set criminal consequences for those involved? What should the penalties be?
2. Should minors caught engaging in piracy acts have criminal charges brought against them?
Other Questions for the Tech Ethics speakers:
3. Should the Internet have decency laws? Should it have a regulatory international agency?
Okay, those are my thoughts on the subject. I am also looking forward to this tech ethics discussion coming up. Thanks for hearing me out.
--AR--
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