User:Vtaylor/Computers and Society/2. Privacy and Freedom of Speech


 * Privacy represents an important area of society that is being impacted by computers. Just Google for your favorite recording artist or movie star. They don't have much privacy - there are pictures of them everywhere. Their personal information is very public.


 * Freedom of speech takes on new meaning in cyberspace. While it is possible for repressive regimes to control print and broadcast media, it is much more difficult to control online publication. This is especially true when the source of the information is outside the jurisdiction of those endeavoring to control speech.

Your personal information may not be so public, but it could be. See how easy it is to find your phone number and address using one of the online services. While this great if old friends are trying to reach you, it could be a problem if the interested is unwanted.

In this topic, we will look at issues surrounding privacy and how to protect your personal information. The "worst case" is identity theft - a growing problem that is extremely hard for the victim to recover from. Being aware of these issues is an important first step.

Learning outcomes


 * explore the topic of Privacy through reading, media and related assignments
 * facilitate an online discussion about Privacy
 * explore web resources associated with this topic
 * learn about blogging and personal publishing on the web
 * consider how society is impacted by the application of computers and the Internet to Privacy issues

Keywords


 * privacy, risks, data collection, surveillance, Fourth Amendment, personalization, privacy regulations, public records, communications interception, encryption, freedom of speech, media, spam, offensive speech, censorship, anonymity, net neutrality

Study questions


 * How do you feel about your own privacy when you are using technology? Are you more or less concerned than transacting in other media?
 * How safe is your personal information?
 * Do you think "big brother" is watching you?
 * Should we have a National ID system? What difference would it make?
 * If more health data was collected, researchers could cure more health problems. Do you agree? Would you allow you health records to be shared with researchers if your personal identity were hidden?
 * Is there a right to privacy? How far should that extend? What limits are necessary?


 * How has the internet changed the meaning and application of the First Amendment's protection of freedom of the press?
 * What is offensive speech? What should be prohibited or restricted by law in cyberspace?
 * What must be done to protect children in cyberspace? How is this different from protection elsewhere?
 * How is the Communications Decency Act being viewed by supporters and opponents?
 * What are some of the outcomes that could result from the global nature of the internet? Access to information? Different points of view? Lies and propaganda?
 * Should anonymity be allowed? Encouraged? Protected?
 * To what extent can new communities develop over the internet? Are these "real" communities? What makes them special?
 * Is the internet a communication system that is totally neutral - without conscience, principle or morality?

Study Questions from Former Students


 * Should distribution of information online and offline be regulated more strictly?
 * How do privacy regulations in the United States differ from those in the European Union?
 * Do the people who work for the companies that abuse personal information understand that they too are at risk or are they protected with anonymizers, encryption and privacy protection software?
 * Who am I if someone steals my identity?
 * What kind of benefit does a credit bureau get for selling "header" information from credit files?
 * Do you think setting up rules for children under 13 is going to work?

== ==
 * Is there any way we can check when people steal our information?
 * Do we need tracking devices or will they end our rights to privacy?
 * Do you think there really is such a thing as personal information if everyone has access to it?
 * What do you do to prevent cyber-attacks?


 * How Teens Deal With Privacy and Mobile Apps - how do you compare?


 * Half of Canadians say government online snooping 'acceptable' - important issue, lots of concerns. Should you be worried?

security / privacy - encrypting, cookies, tracking, alternatives - email, browsers, texting, phone calls, searching -
 * Another look at privacy - Downes comments on Another look at privacy - Johnson


 * SciFri 12jul podcast - With the NSA conducting surveillance on our data and Google scanning our email, how can we protect our personal information? Jon Xavier, digital producer at Silicon Valley Business Journal, discusses the services that you can use to make your information more secure and private.


 * Cloudsweeper email tools - Safeguarding your cloud based storage.] - tools to help users understand and control their risks online while also conducting research to better understand those risks at a systemic level.


 * DuckDuckGo - Search anonymously. Find instantly. - search engine that does NOT save your search history and share it with the government.


 * Facebook: The Privatization of our Privates and Life in the Company Town - complex social networks, privacy, public, ownership, terms of service


 * Behind Facebook—A New World Order Agenda?


 * Steal this blog - "Oversharing might result in more risk and unintended consequence than on might think, especially in the long run. If you’re comfortable being a human homing beacon, that’s fine, we just want you to be fully aware of what that means and the potential risk it might involve."


 * Video: "Open Source Democracy" This is a talk given by author Douglass Rushkoff to discuss his ideas for politics and how they're impacted by computers and the internet. A lot of this information is discussed in some of the books he's written. This lecture was given as part of a computers and society class at NYU.


 * Three types of online attack: Mikko Hypponen on TED.com - Cybercrime expert Mikko Hypponen talks us through three types of online attack on our privacy and data — and only two are considered crimes.


 * Privacy guidelines - What you can do to protect your privacy and personal information - student contributions


 * First Amendment's protection of freedom of the press - history, details


 * Identity Theft: How To Avoid It


 * Identity Theft: What To Do If It Happens


 * Identity Theft Information - approximately 15 million United States residents have their identities used fraudulently each year, about $50 billion loss, approximately 7% of all adults have their identities misused, $3,500 losses each. each year 100 million personal identifying information placed at risk when government and corporate databases are lost or stolen.


 * The Cyberspace Charter of Rights - published in 1999, Stephen Downes' personal statement

== Assignments ==


 * 1) Before you start the reading and the assignments, take a few minutes to think about what you already know about the topic - Privacy and Freedom of Speech. Write a sentence or two about this in the I know... discussion.


 * 1) Read the Study notes for an overview for the topics that will be covered.


 * 1) Read, view, listen to the selections in the Selected media list. There is no textbook for this course, so you will have to determine how many of these resources to read and watch. Use the study questions and assignments to guide your research. Have you found answers to most of the questions? If not, look for other sources of information. This is self-directed learning.


 * 1) For this course, you are required to do 12 hours of community service learning. You can do the work anytime throughout the semester. Read through the Community Service Learning guidelines. Decide which community partner you will be working with. In 5-6 sentences, describe the community partner, the work you will be doing, and how you plan to complete the community service work. Post your plan description to the Plan for Community Service Learning discussion.

Follow links provided by 3 other students, review their suggested articles and media, and write a brief reply to the author for each.
 * 1) Choose 3 words from the Keywords list. Find at least one web article or other online media that provides information about the words and how they relate to the course. Post the words, links to your selected web articles or online media, and a brief description about your selections, to the discussion Privacy and Freedom of Speech keywords.


 * 1) If you haven't read the course Syllabus - CIS 2 Computers and Society, do it NOW. There is a lot of important information here.


 * 1) Review the  Discussion participation section on managing emails from discussions.


 * 1) To gauge your personal risk, and find tips for lowering it, take the nifty 10-question safety quiz at IDsafety.net. http://idsafety.net/


 * 1) Notice the little picture that accompanies my posts in the discussion forum. You can add your own to your profile - any small image file can be uploaded. For best results, it should be 100x100 pixels in size. Click on the "?" help button in your profile for additional information.


 * 1) Find one web article that talks about privacy and computers that you think is particularly interesting. Write a brief summary of the key point and a "critical thinking" question about the social issues discussed. What is the impact on society? Why is this important? Be sure your question will encourage discussion on why this is important. Post the web address of the Privacy article you selected, a sentence of the article that prompted your question, and your question to discussion topic Privacy and Personal Information. Facilitate your discussion and participate in at least 2 other discussions.


 * 1) Blog -- (weB LOG) - A blog is basically a journal that is available on the web. The activity of updating a blog is "blogging" and someone who keeps a blog is a "blogger." Blogs are typically updated frequently using software that allows people with little or no technical background to update and maintain the blog. Postings on a blog are almost always arranged in chronological order with the most recent additions or "posts" at the top.

Search the web and locate a blog on a topic that interests you. This could be the writing of an expert in a particular field or just someone who writes a personal journal that is good reading. There are many directories of blogs, too. Write 3-4 sentences describing the blog that you think would be of interest to the class. Post the web address of the blog you select to discussion Blogs of Interest. Review the posts of your classmates, visit the blogs they suggest and comment on at least two. What does blogging indicate about society today? Do you have your own blog? What is your point of view? Why do you blog? How often do you write blog entries? Do you read any blogs regularly? Which ones? Why?


 * 1) Just like a tattoo, your digital reputation is an expression of yourself. It's highly visible, and hard to remove. Explore how your online identity affects you, your friends, your school and your job - for better and for worse - and how to make informed choices. Take the self-assessment at Digital Tattoo http://digitaltattoo.ubc.ca/protect-module-self-assessment/


 * 1) Reflection - Read Things You Really Need to Learn http://halfanhour.blogspot.com/2006/08/things-you-really-need-to-learn.html What is the best advice? What would you add? This should be 1-2 paragraphs. Use the I Wonder... 2 assignment to submit your note.

2013.09.23 - page accessed 2,045 times