Social Social and and Ethica Ethicall Issues Issues in Comput Computing ing:: Doing Doing the the right right thing Summary and Key Terms:
With the high level of integration of computing into society, it is no longer desirable to leave the social and ethical issues of computing to the experts; everyone must be knowledgeable and involved. One of the major issues confronting society today is the growing digital divide that separates separates the computing computing haves from the havenots nots.. To narr narrow ow the the divi divide de with within in the the Unit United ed Stat States es,, the the FCC FCC Univer ersa sall Serv Servic ice e Fund Fund that admini administe sters rs the Univ that help helps s serv servic ice e providers with the higher costs of providing communication services to rura rurall area areas. s. The The Fede Federa rall E-Rate pro program gram adds adds a littl ittle e to ever everyo yone ne’s ’s tele teleph phon one e bill bill to prov provid ide e rate rate su subs bsid idie ies s for for Inte Intern rnet et access for schools and libraries. Worldwide, thousands of initiatives exist within disadvantaged regions and countries to improve access to the digital world.
Ergonomics is the use of research in designing systems, programs, or devices that are appropriate to use for their intended purposes. In the the cont contex extt of comp comput uter ers, s, ergo ergono nomi mics cs refer refers s to huma human n fact factor ors s related to the use of computers. Many Many soft softwa ware re tool tools s exis existt that that allo allow w empl employ oyer ers s to moni monito torr the the computer activities of employees. Although there is no requirement to noti otify empl employ oyee ees s of su suc ch moni monito tori rin ng, more more enl enligh ighten tened orga organi niza zati tion ons s have have poli polici cies es in plac place e to info inform rm empl employ oyee ees s of monitoring practices.
Green computing refers to addressing the environmental impact of computers use in an environmentally responsible manner. Many organizations require all newly purchased computer equipment to Energy gy Star Star stan meet the EPA’s Ener standa dard rds s for for limi limiti ting ng powe powerr requirements. energy managemen managementt Curren Currentt operat operating ing system systems s contai contain n many many energy features that reduce the power requirements of computer systems. Computer users should make every effort to reduce the amount of paper waste generated and to recycle laser printer toner cartridges. Make every effort to prolong the useful life of your computer. When you you must must disp dispos ose e of it, it, us use e and and envi enviro ronm nmen enta tall lly y resp respon onsi sibl ble e recycling company.
One of the biggest legal problems facing the Internet is the issue of international jurisdiction. When a dispute arises between individuals and organizations from several countries, whose laws apply? The application of national laws to a worldwide medium like the Internet is a difficult process. Within the United States similar jurisdictional issues exists between states states.. The The imposi impositi tion on of state state and and local local sales sales taxes taxes on Intern Internet et transactions is a major concern. The Internet Nondiscrimination Act prohibits states from imposing any new taxes that single out Intern Internet et transa transacti ctions ons,, but doesn’ doesn’tt prohib prohibit it the states states from from taxing taxing Internet transactions the same way they tax any other transaction. The The Inte Intern rnet et can can be a dang danger erou ous s plac place e fro fro chil childre dren. n. Blocking software attempts to prevent children from accessing objectionable sites. The Communications Decency Act attempted to prevent people from preying on children on the Internet, but was struck down by the Supreme Court. The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) requires Web sites that target children unde underr age age 13 to post post a priv privac acy y poli policy cy that that clea clearl rly y stat states es what what information they collect and set up parental notification and consent systems before gathering information from children. The Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) requires libraries receiving any type of federal funding to implement technology that blocks or filters certain objectionable material on the Internet. The Neighb Neighborh orhood ood Childr Children’ en’s s Intern Internet et Protec Protectio tion n Act (NCIP (NCIPA) A) requ requir ires es libra librari ries es rece receiv ivin ing g the the EE-Ra Rate te disc discou ount nt to esta establ blis ish h an Internet safety policy to protect children. Enforcement of CIPA has been blocked by the courts. Cong Congre ress ss has has take taken n a diff differ eren entt appr approa oach ch to chil child d prot protec ecti tion on by establishing .kids.us doma domain in that that will will proh prohib ibit it cont conten entt that that is unsuitable for children.
Ethics refers to standards of moral conduct. Although unethical acts may be immoral, they are not always illegal, although illegal acts are almost always unethical. Computer professionals are people whose work focuses on the computer systems themselves, people with titles such as programmer, systems analyst, network administrator, and computer operator. A number of professional organizations involved in various aspects of information technology have developed their own codes of ethics.
Nonprofessionals are normally responsible for the everyday use of com compute puters rs and and mus ustt be fami famili liar ar with the the appl appliicabl cable e ethi ethica call principles. Businesses have the ethical and, in many cases legal, responsibility to protect the privacy of customer’s personal data stored on their computers. computers. Under an opt-in policy, businesses notify customers of their privacy policy, and the customers must specifically agree before the business can release their data to third parties. With an opt-out approach, customers are assumed to have agreed to the release of their data unless they specifically request that the business keep it private.
The abilit ability y of comput computers ers to alter alter reali reality ty impose imposess certai certain n ethica ethicall obliga obligatio tions ns on news news organizations. Intellectual property (IP) refers to results of intellectual activity in the industrial, scientific, literary, or artistic fields. IP is legally protected in several ways. The U.S. Copyright Act protects literary and artistic works. Patents protect inventions, and trademark law protects the rights of businesses to their identity. Copyright protection provides the creator of a literary or artistic work control over the use and distribution of that work. Digital representation of IP makes it much easier to violate copyright law. The concept of fair use allows you to make us of copyrighted works for limited purposes, including criticism, news reporting, education, and research, provided such use falls within specific guidelines.
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) makes it illegal to use, se, devel evelo op, or publ publiish met method hods of brea break king antip ntipir irac acy y protections added to copyrighted works and bans devices designed for that purpose. purpose. Critics complain complain that this law prevents users from exercising their fair use rights. Comp Comput uter er soft softwa ware re is clas classi sifi fied ed as copy copyri righ ghta tabl ble e inte intell llec ectu tual al property. The software license specifies the rights of the purchaser, but but gene genera rall lly y proh prohib ibit its s sell sellin ing g or givi giving ng away away copi copies es.. The The No Electronic Theft (NET) Act prohibits reproducing or distributing copyrighted material by electronic means, regardless of the purpose or motive.
Copyleft is an alternative means of controlling software rights in which everyone has permission to run, copy, or modify the program, and and to dist distri ribu bute te modi modifi fied ed vers versio ions ns,, but but not not perm permis issi sion on to add add restrictions of their own. Digi Digita tall Imag Images es are are prot protec ecte ted d by copy copyri righ ght. t. You mus ustt permission to distribute an image or use it on your Web site.
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Plagiarism is the representat representation ion of someone someone else’s words or ideas as your own. Fair use allows you to include a portion of another’s
work within your own, but only if you properly cite, or identify, the source.
Patents protect inventions by granting the patent holder exclusive rights to the invention for 20 years. Business methods implemented in software may be patented. A trademark is a word, name, symbol, or device used to distinguish one company and its products from another.
Cybersquatting involves registering common words and phrases as domain names, with the intention of selling the domain name at a profit to a company that wants a catchy, easy-to-remember URL. Anti-Cybersqu ersquattin atting g Consumer Consumer Protection Protection Act provides The Anti-Cyb penalt penalties ies up to $100,0 $100,000 00 for anyone anyone regist registeri ering ng a domain domain name name using someone else’s trademark.
