Privacy

A GIFT OF FIRE
THIRD EDITION
SARA BAASE
CHAPTER 2: PRIVACY
Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Adapted by Enas Naffar for use in Computing Ethics course –Philadelphia university
1
WHAT WE WILL
COVER
•Privacy and Computer Technology
•“Big Brother is Watching You”
•Privacy Topics
•Protecting Privacy
•Communications

2
PRIVACY AND COMPUTER
TECHNOLOGY
Key Aspects of Privacy:
•Freedom from intrusion (being left alone)
•Control of information about oneself
•Freedom from surveillance (being tracked,
followed, watched)

3
PRIVACY RISKS AND
PRINCIPLES
Privacy threats come in several categories:
 Intentional, institutional uses of personal
information
 Unauthorized use or release by “insiders”
 Theft of information
 Inadvertent leakage of information
 Our own actions

4
TECHNOLOGY
New Technology, New Risks:
•Government and private databases
-Thousands of databases containing personal information
about us.
-Profiles of our personal information could be created easily.
•Sophisticated tools for surveillance and data
analysis
- Cameras, GPS, cell phones
5
TECHNOLOGY (CONT.)
• Vulnerability of data
- Leaks of data happens, existence of data presents a
risk.
6
PRIVACY RISKS AND
PRINCIPLES
New Technology, New Risks – Examples:
Search query data
 Search engines collect many terabytes of data
daily.
 Data is analyzed to target advertising and
develop new services.
 Who gets to see this data? Why should we care?
Corresponding page 51-52

PRIVACY RISKS AND
PRINCIPLES
New Technology, New Risks – Examples:
Smartphones
 Location apps
 Data sometimes stored and sent without user’s
knowledge

PRIVACY RISKS AND
PRINCIPLES
New Technology, New Risks – Summary of Risks:
 Anything we do in cyberspace is recorded.
 Huge amounts of data are stored.
 People are not aware of collection of data.
 Software is complex.
 Leaks happen.
Corresponding page 55
PRIVACY RISKS AND
PRINCIPLES
New Technology, New Risks – Summary of Risks
(cont.):
 A collection of small items can provide a detailed
picture.
 Re-identification has become much easier due to
the quantity of information and power of data
search and analysis tools.
 If information is on a public Web site, it is
available to everyone.

PRIVACY RISKS AND
PRINCIPLES
New Technology, New Risks – Summary of Risks
(cont.):
 Information on the Internet seems to last forever.
 Data collected for one purpose will find other
uses.
 Government can request sensitive personal data
held by businesses or organizations.
 We cannot directly protect information about
ourselves. We depend upon businesses and
organizations to protect it.
Corresponding page 56
TECHNOLOGY (CONT.)
Terminology and principles for data
collection and use:
• Invisible information gathering
- Collection of personal information about someone
without the person’s knowledge
- Unauthorized software, Cookies, ISP providers
• Secondary use
- Use of personal information for a purpose other than
the one it was provided for .
12
Q:
RECALL AN EXAMPLE OF
INVISIBLE INFORMATION
…GATHERING ABOUT YOU
TECHNOLOGY (CONT.)
Terminology (cont.):
Secondary use:
1- Data mining
Searching and analyzing masses of data to find
patterns and develop new information or knowledge
2- Computer matching
Combining and comparing information from different
databases (using social security number, for example,
to match records)
14
Privacy and Computer
Technology (cont.)
• Data mining - searching and analyzing masses of
data to find patterns and develop new
information or knowledge
• Computer matching - combining and comparing
information from different databases (using social
security number, for example, to match records)
– D&D Matching
– VA Benefits
– Debate
Computer Matching
• Combining and comparing information

from more than one database. Some
examples:
– Sharing of government agencies’
databases to detect fraud by
recipients of government programs.
– Creating consumer dossiers from
various business databases.
Computer Matching
Computer Matching
TECHNOLOGY (CONT.)
3- Computer profiling
- Analyzing data in computer files to determine
characteristics of people most likely to engage in
certain behavior
- Businesses find new consumers
- Government detects fraud and crime activities
19
Technology (cont.)
• Profiling
– Using data in computer files to predict
likely behaviors of people. Some
examples:
• Businesses engage in profiling to
determine consumer propensity toward
a product or service.
• Government agencies use profiling to
create descriptions of possible terrorists.
Amazon.com
TECHNOLOGY (CONT.)
Principles for Data Collection and Use:
•Informed consent
•Opt-in and opt-out policies
•Fair Information Principles (or Practices)
•Data retention
22
TECHNOLOGY (CONT.)
•Informed consent
-People should be informed about the data
collection and use policies of a business or
organization,
-They can then decide whether or not to interact
with that business or organization.
23
TECHNOLOGY (CONT.)
•Opt-in and opt-out policies
-To give people some control over secondary uses
-Under opt-out policy, the organization can use one’s
information for other purposes only if he explicitly inform
the organization (ex. Signs a form) permitting the use.
-Under opt-in policy, the collector of information may
not use it for other purposes unless the consumer
explicitly permits the use.
24
TECHNOLOGY
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Have you seen opt-in and opt-out choices?

Where? How were they worded?
Were any of them deceptive?
What are some common elements of privacy
policies you have read?
25
TECHNOLOGY (CONT.)
•Fair Information Principles (or Practices)
– Inform about personally identifiable information
– Collect only data needed
– Offer opt-out from email, advertising, etc
– Stronger protection of sensitive data
– Keep data only as long as needed
– Maintain accuracy of data
– Policies for responding to law enforcement
– Protect security of data.
26
"Big Brother is Watching You"
(cont.)
The Fourth Amendment, Expectation of Privacy
and Surveillance Technologies(p66) :
• Has technology strengthened or weakened
the Fourth Amendment???
• Weakening the Fourth Amendment
• Supreme Court decisions and expectation of
privacy
– Modern surveillance techniques are
redefining expectation of privacy
(cont.)
• The Fourth Amendment, Expectation of
Privacy and Surveillance Technologies
(cont.):
• The USA Patriot Act and national security
letters
– No court order or court oversight needed
– 2003-2005 report found "widespread and
serious misuse" of the FBIs national
security letter authorities
BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING"
"YOU
Databases:
•Government agencies collect many types
of information
•Ask business to report about consumers
•Buy personal information from sellers
•Main publicized reason: data mining and
computer matching to fight terrorism
29
"YOU
Databases:
:Private information can be used to
Arrest people
Jail people
Seize assets
30
"YOU
Databases:
•Millions of crime suspects are searched in
government databases
•Shift from presumption of innocence to
presumption of guilt
•Computer software characterizes suspects
- Innocent people are sometimes subject to
embarrassing searches and expensive investigations
and to arrest and jail.
31
Small Sampling of
Government Databases with Personal Information
What data does the government have about you?
• Tax records
• Medical records
• Marriage and divorce records
• Property ownership
• Welfare records
• School records
• Motor vehicle records
• Voter registration records
• Books checked out of public libraries
• People with permits to carry firearms
• Applications for government grant and loan programs
• Professional and trade licenses
• Bankruptcy records
• Arrest records
YOU" (CONT.)
- Some constitution articles (laws) protect
privacy.
- Modern surveillance techniques are
redefining expectation of privacy.
- What privacy is included in those laws ?
33
YOU" (CONT.)
In some countries:
• No court order or court oversight needed to
get one’s private information.
• 2003-2005 report found "widespread and

serious misuse" of the FBIs national
security letter authorities.
34
"YOU
Two key problems arise from new technologies:
• Much of our personal information is no longer safe
in our homes; it resides in huge databases outside
our control.
• New technologies allow the government to search
our homes without entering them and search our
persons from a distance without our knowledge.
35
YOU" (CONT.)
Video Surveillance:
- Security cameras in Shopping centers, malls,
banks, etc.
- Cameras alone raise some privacy issues.
- When being combined with face recognition
systems, they raise more privacy issues.
• Increased security
• Decreased privacy
36
BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU""
(CONT.)
What data does the government have about

you?
Who has access to the data?
How is your data protected?
37
DIVERSE PRIVACY
TOPICS
Marketing, Personalization and Consumer
Dossiers:
•Targeted and personalized marketing
(business, political parties, etc)
•Paying for consumer information
Examples
- Trading data to win prizes
-Targeting ads to users by scanning their
emails! Like Gmail.
38
DIVERSE PRIVACY
TOPICS
•Data firms and consumer profiles
-Companies (firms) that collect information
about individuals
-These firms sell data to other companies for
marketing purposes.
Data mining is being used

Credit records might be sold to different
parties
39
DIVERSE PRIVACY
TOPICS
Social Networks
 What we do
 Post opinions, gossip, pictures, “away from home”
status
 What they do
 New services with unexpected privacy settings

DIVERSE PRIVACY
TOPICS (CONT.)
Location Tracking:
Global Positioning Systems (GPS)
-computer or communication services that
know exactly where a person is at a
particular time
Cell phones and other devices are used for
location tracking
Pros and cons
41
DIVERSE PRIVACY
TOPICS (CONT.)
Stolen and Lost Data:
Hackers
Physical theft (laptops, thumb-drives, etc.)
Requesting information under false
pretenses
Bribery of employees who have access
42
DIVERSE PRIVACY
TOPICS (CONT.)
What We Do Ourselves:
-Some people do not know or understand
enough how the web works in order to make
good decisions about what to put there.
- Some people do not think carefully.

- People often want a lot of information about
others but do not want others to have access
to the same kind of information about
themselves.
43
DIVERSE PRIVACY
TOPICS (CONT.)
- Our cell phone and email messages reside on
computers outside our home or office.
- We have no direct control over such files.
- There have been many incidents of exposure

of emails for politicians, businessmen, etc.
44
DIVERSE PRIVACY
TOPICS (CONT.)
Personal information in blogs and online
profiles
Pictures of ourselves and our families
File sharing and storing
Is privacy old-fashioned?
• Young people put less value on privacy than
previous generations.
• May not understand the risks.
45
DIVERSE PRIVACY
TOPICS (CONT.)
Public Records: Access vs. Privacy:
Public Records - records available to general
public (bankruptcy, property, and arrest
records, salaries of government employees,
etc.)
Identity theft can arise when public records
are accessed
How should we control access to sensitive
public records?
46
DIVERSE PRIVACY
TOPICS (CONT.)
Children ( privacy and safety)
The Internet
• Not able to make decisions on when to
provide information
• Vulnerable to online predators
Parental monitoring
• Software to monitor Web usage
• Web cams to monitor children while parents
are at work
• GPS tracking via cell phones or RFID
47
DIVERSE PRIVACY
TOPICS (CONT.)
Children ( privacy and safety)
At what age does web monitoring become an
invasion of the child’s privacy?
Should parents tell children about the tracking
devices and services they are using?
Informed consent is a basic principle for adults. At
what age does it apply to children?
Will intense tracking and monitoring slow the
development of a child’s responsible
independence?
Will parents rely more on gadgets than on talking
to their children?
48
DIVERSE PRIVACY TOPICS
• Is there information that you have posted
to the Web that you later removed? Why
did you remove it? Were there
consequences to posting the
information?
• Have you seen information that others
have posted about themselves that you
would not reveal about yourself?
49
Diverse Privacy Topics (cont.)
National ID System:
• Social Security Numbers
– Too widely used
– Easy to falsify
National ID System (Cont.):
• A new national ID system - Pros
– would require the card
– harder to forge
– have to carry only one card
• A new national ID system - Cons
– Threat to freedom and privacy
– Increased potential for abuse
Diverse Privacy Topics
• Most folks have figured out by now you can’t do
anything on the Web without leaving a record. -
Holman W. Jenkins Jr., 2000
• Most tech savvy folks
• Many companies have work to enhance privacy for
customers with Encryption
• Cryptography is the art and science of hiding data in
plain sight – Larry Loen
• Hacking?
• Web site operators pay thousands and sometimes
millions for privacy audits.
• Checking for leaks of information, review of
company’s privacy policy and its compliance with
policy
• Truste
Children:
• Logging Activity on Internet
• Cell phone enable parents to check
child’s physical location
• Devices in car tell parents where teens
are and how FAST they are driving
• RFID in shoes & Clothes
Children:
• The Internet
– Not able to make decisions on when to
provide information
– Vulnerable to online predators
• Parental monitoring
– Software to monitor Web usage
– Web cams to monitor children while parents
are at work
– GPS tracking via cell phones or RFID
Diverse Privacy Topics
Discussion Questions
• Is there information that you have
posted to the Web that you later
removed? Why did you remove it? Were
there consequences to posting the
information?
• Have you seen information that others
have posted about themselves that you
would not reveal about yourself?
Technology
Discussion Questions
• What is the impact of GPS-equipped
children's’ wrist watches?
• What is the impact of cell phones that provide

tracking information to parents?
• Is it legal for someone to search your

computer?
• Is it legal for someone to read your email?

PROTECTING
PRIVACY
Technology and Markets:
Awareness:
Most people have figured out now you can’t do
anything on the web without leaving a record.
We can decide to what extent we wish to use privacy-
protecting tools.
We can be more careful about the information we
give out, and the privacy policies of sites we use or
visit.
57
PROTECTING
PRIVACY
Privacy-enhancing technologies for
consumers
New applications of technology often can solve problems
that arise as side effects of technology.
Example: cookie disablers, blocking pop-up ads,
scanning PCs for spyware, etc.
 Using usernames and passwords for Blogs visitors
(family , friends, etc.).
58
PROTECTING
PRIVACY
 Encryption
Information sent to and from websites can be
intercepted.
Someone who steals a computer or hacks into it can
view files on it .
Encryption is a technology that transforms data into a
form that that is meaningless to anyone who might
intercept or view it.
59
PROTECTING
PRIVACY
 Encryption
Encryption generally includes a coding scheme, or
cryptography algorithm, and specific sequences of
characters (digits or letters).
Public-key cryptography: An encryption scheme,
where two related keys are used.
- A key to encrypt messages.
- A key to decrypt messages.
60
PROTECTING
PRIVACY
Business tools and policies for protecting
privacy
 Well- designed database.
 Using privacy audits to check for leaks of information,
review the company's privacy policy , etc.
 Some large companies like IBM and Microsoft, use
their economic influence to improve consumer privacy on
the web, by removing ads from their web sites.
61
PROTECTING
PRIVACY (CONT.)
Rights and laws:
Theories
• Warren and Brandeis: The inviolate
personality
- Warren and Brandeis criticized newspapers especially for
the gossip columns.
- People have the right to prohibit publications of facts (and
photos) about themselves.
- Libel, slander and defamation laws protect us when
someone spreads false and damaging rumors about us.
But they do not apply to true personal information.
- Privacy is distinct and needs its own protection.
62
PROTECTING
PRIVACY (CONT.)
Rights and laws:
Theories
• Thomson: Is there a right to privacy?
- Thomson argues the opposite point f view.
- There is no violation of privacy without violation of

some other right, such as the right to control our
property or our person, the right to be free from
violent attacks, the right to form contracts(and expect
them to be enforced).
63
PROTECTING
PRIVACY (CONT.)
Rights and laws:
Theories
• Criticism of both theories ?
64
PROTECTING
PRIVACY (CONT.)
Rights and laws:
Applying the theories:
Many court decisions since Warren and Brandeis
article, have taken their point of view.
A person may win a case if someone published
his/her consumer profile.
Warren and Brandeis (and court decisions) allow
disclosure of personal information to people who have
an interest in it.
An important aspect: consent.
65
PROTECTING
PRIVACY (CONT.)
Rights and laws:
Transactions
Privacy includes control of information about oneself.
How to apply privacy notions to transactions, Which
involve more than one person?
66
PROTECTING
PRIVACY (CONT.)
Rights and laws:
Ownership of personal data
People should be given property rights in information
about themselves.
But some activities and transactions involve at least
two people, each of whom would have claims to own
the information about the activity.
Can we own our profiles (collection of data describing
our activities, purchase, interests, etc.) ?
- We cannot own the fact that our eyes have a
certain color !
67
PROTECTING
PRIVACY (CONT.)
Rights and laws:
Regulation
Technical tools for privacy protection, market
mechanisms, and business policies are not perfect.
Regulation is not perfect either.
Some Regulations may be so expensive and difficult
to apply.
Example: Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HIPAA)
68
PROTECTING
PRIVACY (CONT.)
Rights and laws: Contrasting Viewpoints:
Free Market View
• Freedom of consumers to make voluntary
agreements
• Diversity of individual tastes and values
• Response of the market to consumer
preferences
• Usefulness of contracts
• Flaws of regulatory solutions
69
PROTECTING
PRIVACY (CONT.)
Rights and laws: Contrasting Viewpoints
(cont.):
Consumer Protection View
• Uses of personal information
• Costly and disruptive results of errors in
databases
• Ease with which personal information leaks
out
• Consumers need protection from their own
lack of knowledge, judgment, or interest
70
PROTECTING
PRIVACY (CONT.)
Privacy Regulations in the European Union
(EU):
Data Protection Directive
• More strict than U.S. regulations
• Abuses still occur
• Puts requirements on businesses outside
the EU
71
PROTECTING PRIVACY
DISCUSSION QUESTION
How would the free-market view and the
consumer protection view differ on errors
in Credit Bureau databases?
Who is the consumer in this situation?
72
COMMUNICATION
Wiretapping and E-mail Protection:
Telephone
• 1934 Communications Act prohibited interception of
messages
• 1968 Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act
allowed wiretapping and electronic surveillance by
law-enforcement (with court order)
E-mail and other new communications
• Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986
(ECPA) extended the 1968 wiretapping laws to
include electronic communications, restricts
government access to e-mail
73
COMMUNICATION
(CONT.)
Designing Communications Systems for
Interception:
Communications Assistance for Law
Enforcement Act of 1994 (CALEA)
• Telecommunications equipment must
be designed to ensure government can
intercept telephone calls
• Rules and requirements written by
Federal Communications Commission
(FCC)
74
COMMUNICATION
(CONT.)
Secret Intelligence Gathering:
The National Security Agency (NSA)
• Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA)
established oversight rules for the NSA
Secret access to communications records
75
COMMUNICATION
(CONT.)
Encryption Policy:
Government ban on export of strong
encryption software in the 1990s (removed
in 2000)
76
COMMUNICATION
What types of communication exist today that
did not exist in 1968 when wiretapping was
finally approved for law-enforcement
agencies?
What type of electronic communications do
you use on a regular basis?
77

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A GIFT OF FIRE

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Corresponding page 51-52

Corresponding page 53-54

Corresponding page 55-56

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

• Combining and comparing information

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Have you seen opt-in and opt-out choices?

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

- What privacy is included in those laws ?

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

• 2003-2005 report found "widespread and

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

What data does the government have about

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Data mining is being used

Corresponding page 75-77

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

- Some people do not think carefully.

- We have no direct control over such files.

- There have been many incidents of exposure

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

• What is the impact of cell phones that provide

• Is it legal for someone to search your

• Is it legal for someone to read your email?

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

- Thomson argues the opposite point f view.

- There is no violation of privacy without violation of

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

• Criticism of both theories ?

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye