Information Systems 8 - The Ethical and Legal Implication of IS PDF

Information Systems 1 CHAPTER 8: THE ETHICAL AND LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS 2  Learning Objectives ❑ describe what the term information systems ethics means; ❑ explain what a code of ethics is and descri...

Information Systems 1 CHAPTER 8: THE ETHICAL AND LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS 2  Learning Objectives ❑ describe what the term information systems ethics means; ❑ explain what a code of ethics is and describe the advantages and disadvantages; ❑ define the term intellectual property and explain the protections provided by copyright, patent, and trademark; ❑ describe the challenges that information technology brings to individual privacy. 3  Introduction IS have had an impact far beyond the world of business. New technologies create new situations that we have never dealt with before. How do we handle the new capabilities that these devices empower us with? What new laws are going to be needed to protect us from ourselves?  Information Systems Ethics ❑ Ethics - “a set of moral principles” or “the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group.” ❑ The introduction of new technology can have a profound effect on human behavior. ❑ New technologies give us capabilities that we did not have before, which in turn create environments and situations that have not been specifically addressed in ethical terms. ❑ Those who master new technologies gain new power; those who cannot or do not master them may lose power 5  Information Systems Ethics Today’s digital technologies have created new categories of ethical dilemmas. EG, the ability to anonymously make perfect copies of digital music has tempted many music fans to download copyrighted music for their own use without making payment to the music’s owner. Many of those who would never have walked into a music store and stolen a CD find themselves with dozens of illegally downloaded albums. 6 Code of Ethics A document that outlines a set of acceptable behaviors for a professional or social group; generally, it is agreed to by all members of the group. The document details different actions that are considered appropriate and inappropriate. 7 Code of Ethics EG of a code of ethics is the Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct of the Association for Computing Machinery (an organization of computing professionals that includes academics, researchers, and practitioners). Here is a quote from the preamble: Commitment to ethical professional conduct is expected of every member (voting members, associate members, and student members) of the Association for Computing 8  Code of Ethics In the ACM’s code, you will find many straightforward ethical instructions, No one should enter or use another’s computer system, software, or data files without permission. Designing or implementing systems that deliberately or inadvertently demean individuals or groups is ethically unacceptable. Organizational leaders are responsible for ensuring that computer systems enhance, not degrade, the quality of working life 9  Advantages of Code of Ethics ❖ It clarifies the acceptable standards of behavior for a professional group. ❖ provides clarity and consistency. ❖ Builds a reputation of the company in the market. ❖ Keeps the company and its employee's from violating laws and regulations 10  Disadvantages of Code of Ethics ❖ a code of ethics does not have legal authority; (breaking a code of ethics is not a crime in itself) ❖ a chance that important issues will arise that are not specifically addressed in the code. ❖ it may not entirely reflect the ethics or morals of every member of the group. 11  Acceptable Use Policies ❖ A policy outlines what is allowed and what is not allowed while someone is using the organization’s services. ❖ An everyday example of this, is the terms of service that must be agreed to before using the public Wi-Fi at a university. 12  Acceptable Use Policies EG of acceptable use policy from Virginia Tech. ❖ “Borrowing” someone else’s login ID and password is prohibited. ❖ Using the provided access for commercial purposes, such as hosting your own business website, is not allowed. ❖ Sending out unsolicited email to a large group of people is prohibited. In most cases, such as with Wi-Fi, violating the acceptable use policy will mean that you will lose your access to the resource. 13  Intellectual Property “property (as an idea, invention, or process) that derives from the work of the mind or intellect.” This could include creations such as song lyrics, a computer program, a new type of toaster, or even a sculpture. Intellectual property laws are written to protect the tangible results of an idea 14 3 of the best-known intellectual property protections 1. Copyright … the protection given to songs, computer programs, books, and other creative works; any work that has an “author” can be copyrighted. Under the terms of copyright, the author of a work controls what can be done with the work, including: Who can make copies of the work. Who can perform the work publicly. Who can display the work publicly. Who can distribute the work 15 3 of the best-known intellectual property protections Obtaining Copyright Protection In Ghana and the United States, a copyright is obtained by the simple act of creating the original work. In other words, when an author writes down that song, makes that film, or designs that program, he or she automatically has the copyright. However, for a work that will be used commercially, it is advisable to register for a copyright with the Copyright Office 16 3 of the best-known intellectual property protections The History of Copyright Law ▪ Current copyright law grants copyright protection for seventy years after the author’s death, or ninety-five years from the date of creation for a work created for hire. ▪ The first US copyright law, which only protected books, maps, and charts, provided protection for only 14 years with a renewable term of 14 years. 17 3 of the best-known intellectual property protections Creative Commons ▪ is a nonprofit organization that provides legal tools for artists and authors. ▪ The tools offered make it simple to license artistic or literary work for others to use or distribute in a manner consistent with the author’s intentions. Creative Commons licenses are indicated with this symbol. 18 3 of the best-known intellectual property protections By attaching a Creative Commons license to their work, a legally binding license is created. EG: CC-BY: This is the least restrictive license. It lets others distribute and build upon the work, even commercially, as long as they give the author credit for the original work. 19 3 of the best-known intellectual property protections CC-BY-SA: This license restricts the distribution of the work via the “share-alike” clause. This means that others can freely distribute and build upon the work, but they must give credit to the original author and they must share using the same Creative Commons license. 20 3 of the best-known intellectual property protections CC-BY-NC: This license is the same as CC-BY but adds the restriction that no one can make money with this work. NC stands for “non-commercial.” CC-BY-NC-ND: This license is the same as CC-BY-NC but also adds the ND restriction, which means that no derivative works may be made from the original. 21 3 of the best-known intellectual property protections 2. Patent A patent creates protection for someone who invents a new product or process. Here are some examples of items receiving patents: prescription drug formulas. firearms. locks plumbing engines coating processes business processes As with copyright, patent protection lasts for a limited period of time before the invention or process enters the public domain 22 3 of the best-known intellectual property protections Obtaining Patent Protection Unlike copyright, a patent is not automatically granted when someone has an interesting idea and writes it down. A patent will only be granted if the invention or process being submitted meets certain conditions In most countries, a patent application must be submitted to a government patent office 23 3 of the best-known intellectual property protections Conditions to obtain Patent Protection It must be original. The invention being submitted must not have been submitted before. It must be non-obvious. You cannot patent something that anyone could think of. For example, you could not put a pencil on a chair and try to get a patent for a pencil-holding chair. It must be useful. serve some purpose 24 3 of the best-known intellectual property protections 3. Trademark A trademark is a word, phrase, logo, shape or sound that identifies a source of goods or services. For example, the Nike “Swoosh,” the Facebook “f”, and Apple’s apple (with a bite taken out of it) are all trademarked. Two types of trademarks exist ; 1. a common-law trademark and 2. a registered trademark 25 3 of the best-known intellectual property protections A common-law trademark is designated by placing “TM” next to the trademark. A registered trademark is one that has been examined, approved, and registered with the trademark office, such as the Patent and Trademark Office in the US. A registered trademark has the circle-R (®) placed next to the trademark. 26 3 of the best-known intellectual property protections Conditions under which trademark won’t hold 1. The trademark is likely to cause confusion with a mark in a registration or prior application. 2. The trademark is merely descriptive for the goods/services. 3. The trademark is a geographic term. 4. The trademark is a surname. 27 3 of the best-known intellectual property protections Information Systems and Intellectual Property ❑ Privacy the ability to control information about oneself Personally Identifiable Information Information about a person that can be used to uniquely establish that person’s identify is called personally identifiable information, or PII. Examples; name, social security number, date of birth, place of birth; mother‘s maiden name, biometric records (fingerprint, face, etc.); 28 3 of the best-known intellectual property protections Organizations that do not protect PII can face penalties, lawsuits, and loss of business. In the US, most states now have laws in place requiring organizations that have had security breaches related to PII to notify potential victims, as does the European Union. Just because companies are required to protect your information does not mean they are restricted from sharing it. 29  Non-Obvious Relationship Awareness (NORA) The process of collecting large quantities of a variety of information and then combining it to create profiles of individuals. First commercialized by big casinos looking to find cheaters. Non-obvious relationship awareness (NORA) 30 Summary The rapid changes in information technology in the past few decades have brought a broad array of new capabilities and powers to governments, organizations, and individuals alike. These new capabilities have required thoughtful analysis and the creation of new norms, regulations, and laws 31