GED 579

Class Discussion: Copyright (Intellectual Property), Censorship, Privacy

***Technological "Solutions"***


I. Encryption: The process of disguising, that is encrypting, a readable communication into an unintelligible scramble of characters according to some code or by the use of complex mathematical functions (algorithms). A person wishing to encrypt a communication uses special software or hardware that incorporates one of these algorithms. A user needs a KEY to read the message. PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) is one of the more popular examples of encryption software. It may be used on digital movies, sound, text, software.
-two types of keys: 1. Conventional and 2. Public Key

II. Digital Signature (Also referred to as Cryptographic Signature), Digital Dating, and Time Stamp: A digital signature is an electronic substitute for a manual signature, and it also verifies if any changes were made to the document, video, song, etc. The use of a cryptosystem (using algorithms, much like encryption) such that a person having the communication and the signer's public key can accurately determine (1) whether the transformation was created using the private key that corresponds to the signer's public key, and (2) whether the communications has been altered since the transformation was made.  The system does not verify that the digital information has been "seen," but encryption software can be incorporated into the transmission providing for privacy of sender and receiver.
--Closely Related: A Digital Watermarks: digitally protects the content of a song, movie, text to thwart counterfeiters, forwarding to other users.

III. Internet Content Filters (Filtering Systems) FAQ @ http://www.cpsr.org/filters/faq.html 
(the following definition is taken from the FAQ link above) A content filter is one or more pieces of software that work together to prevent users from viewing material found on the Internet. Using Keyword and sight-blocking capabilities, the process has two components.

1. Rating by web owners: Value judgments are used to categorize web sites based on their content. These ratings could use simple allowed/disallowed distinctions like those found in programs like CyberSitter or NetNanny, or they can have many values, as seen in ratings systems based on Platform for Internet Content Selection.

2. Filtering: With each request for information, the filtering software examines the resource that the user has requested. If the resource is on the "not allowed" list, or if it does not have the proper PICS rating, the filtering software tells the user that access has been denied and the browser does not display the contents of the web site.

   Example:
- AltaVista  Family Filter  @ http://www.altavista.com/search/ffset 

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

Copyright (Intellectual Property): Based on the laws, and interpretations of the courts of law of Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution: "To promote the progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries?

1. I want to Link to your Web site. Do I need your permission?

2. I want to post my student's research paper on my Web site. Do I need their permission? Do I have a right to post this information if they are a minor?
- answer @ http://www.cni.org/Hforums/cni-copyright/1998-03/0921.html

3. Pepsi wants to trademark the color blue they use in their logo. Do they have a chance to do so?

4. Is there a difference between giving a paper copy of a journal article out in class under fair use guidelines, or sending a "digital copy" to the same class via email?

 

Privacy: Publishing content that includes a person's identity-such as a name, image, or voice-- or communicating information about an individual, may raise right of privacy issues. Generally, persons have certain rights to control the use of information about the and the use of their identity, even if someone else owns the copyright to the work in which the information appears (Online Law: The SPA's Legal Guide to Doing Business, 1996, page 269)
A. Privacy of a Person's Persona
B. Privacy of Data About a Person
C. Privacy of a Person's Communications
D. Anonymity

1. I want to make a point (from my Web site) that the Almagated Widget factory is a crummy company by, highlighting the company name, then linking to an obscene sight. Is this libelous?

2. True or false:
a. My employer is required to announce or have in place a policy in order to read my email.
b. My employer can be held liable if I break the law while using email. (sending child porn for example)

3. Who owns your medical records? You or the health care provider?

4. A sailor was recently discharged from the U.S. Navy. AOL revealed that he was a homosexual. Were any privacy laws broken?

CENSORSHIP: The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides that "Congress Shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press..." This right also includes the right to speak, receive speech, and the right not to speak.
--Obscenity and Child Pornography are NOT protected under the First Amendment.

1. What is the Clipper Chip and how is it related to encryption software?

2. Do PICS circumvent the alarm about censorship on the Internet? After all, the "user" determines the filters for their individual use.

3. Is it true, what I write (an obscenity) in print may be legal, but it might be illegal broadcast via radio? What if I used the forum of a Newsgroup to "broadcast" an obscenity.

4. What is the "Internet School Filtering Act" of 1998? How could it effect my job?

5. What is the ALA's position on filtering software?