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Act of Necessity

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THE ACT OF NECESSITY 1

The Act of Necessity

Jen T. Stunt

University Of Arizona

THE ACT OF NECESSITY 2

Every day technology advances leaps, and bounds causing new ethical issues. These issues necessitate the creation of new laws by Congress to keep the public safe from their personal private information being used against them unlawfully. In this Information Technology Acts Paper I will discuss two separate acts that were put in place due to such ethical issues arising. The first act is called the Video Privacy Protection Act of 1988. The second act is called The Children’s Internet Protection Act, which was enacted in 2000.

The Video Privacy Protection Act of 1988 (VPPA) was passed when the Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork’s video rental records were posted for public viewing during his campaign. Robert Bork was nominated by President Ronald Reagan to serve as Supreme Court Justice. While debates ran hot over the nomination and Bork’s beliefs became a popular topic, someone leaked his video rental records to the public. There wasn’t anything practically ‘juicy’ about what he had viewed, but some tried to use it against him. This sparked the need for a law to protect him, and others from being a victim of invasion of privacy. We all have different likes when it comes to entertainment. War, Sex, Destruction, Poverty, History, Cats; you could literally go on for days on specific themes people enjoy watching for entertainment, but we as citizens pay companies to view these materials in the privacy of our homes, and to keep our records confidential. The Video Privacy Act of 1988 states:

“ (1) A video tape service provider who knowingly discloses, to any person, personally identifiable information concerning any consumer of such provider shall be liable to the aggrieved person for the relief provided in subsection (d).

(2) A video tape service provider may disclose personally identifiable information concerning any consumer—
(A) to the consumer;

THE ACT OF NECESSITY 3

(B) to any person with the informed, written consent (including through an electronic means using the Internet) of the consumer that—
(i) is in a form distinct and separate from any form setting forth other legal or financial obligations of the consumer;
(ii) at the election of the consumer—
(I) is given at the time the disclosure is sought; or
(II) is given in advance for a set period of time, not to exceed 2 years or until consent is withdrawn by the consumer, whichever is sooner; and
(iii) the video tape service provider has provided an opportunity, in a clear and conspicuous manner, for the consumer to withdraw on a case-by-case basis or to withdraw from ongoing disclosures, at the consumer’s election;
(C) to a law enforcement agency pursuant to a warrant issued under the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, an equivalent State warrant, a grand jury subpoena, or a court order;
(D) to any person if the disclosure is solely of the names and addresses of consumers and if—
(i) the video tape service provider has provided the consumer with the opportunity, in a clear and conspicuous manner, to prohibit such disclosure; and
(ii) the disclosure does not identify the title, description, or subject matter of any video tapes or other audio visual material; however, the subject matter of such materials may be disclosed if the disclosure is for the exclusive use of marketing goods and services directly to the consumer;
(E) to any person if the disclosure is incident to the ordinary course of business of the video tape service provider; or
(F) pursuant to a court order, in a civil proceeding upon a showing of compelling need for the information that cannot be accommodated by any other means, if—
(i) the consumer is given reasonable notice, by the person seeking the disclosure, of the court proceeding relevant to the issuance of the court order; and
(ii) the consumer is afforded the opportunity to appear and contest the claim of the person seeking the disclosure.
If an order is granted pursuant to subparagraph (C) or (F), the court shall impose appropriate safeguards against unauthorized disclosure.
(3) Court orders authorizing disclosure under subparagraph (C) shall issue only with prior notice to the consumer and only if the law enforcement agency shows that there is probable cause to believe that the records or other information sought are relevant to a legitimate law enforcement inquiry. In the case of a State government authority, such a court order shall not issue if prohibited by the law of such State. A court issuing an order pursuant to this section, on a motion made promptly by the video tape service provider, may quash or modify such order if the information or records requested are unreasonably voluminous in nature or if compliance with such order otherwise would cause an unreasonable burden on such provider.” (18 U.S. Code § 2710)

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“So what does all that mean?” you might ask. Basically, as long as you haven’t committed a crime, whereas such information could be used as a character reference, and seized by warrant, or court order, then you are fine. If someone releases your information, and you didn’t agree for it to be released, then you have a lawsuit on your hands. The advances in technology allowed the store to keep a permanent record of what the consumer had viewed. They then disclosed the information to a local newspaper. Everything we do today is on record somewhere. If we use a debit card, the bank knows where and for what; if we buy groceries on our credit card, it is on file; if we go to the doctor, hospital, or sign up for coupons we are on file somewhere. It is impossible not to have a paper trail of what you do in today’s technology. This act helps protect just one aspect of our personal records.

The Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) was enacted in 2000 because children were looking up content they shouldn’t at school on the internet. All sorts of ethical issues arise when children roam the internet unsupervised. What is sad about this act is that not all schools are required to obey it. Only schools that receive discounts to have the internet through government E-rate programs are held to the CIPA standards. Schools that pay privately without the discounts, do not have to abide by the CIPA, but are not allowed to use government funds to buy computers, or internet service.

THE ACT OF NECESSITY 5

In the CIPA is states:

``(a) INTERNET SAFETY.--

``(1) IN GENERAL.--No funds made available under this title to a local educational

agency for an elementary or secondary school that does not receive services at discount

rates under section 254(h)(5) of the Communications Act of 1934, as added by section

1721 of Children's Internet Protection Act, may be used to purchase computers used to

access the Internet, or to pay for direct costs associated with accessing the Internet, for

such school unless the school, school board, local educational agency, or other authority

with responsibility for administration of such school both—

``(A)(i) has in place a policy of Internet safety for minors that includes the operation of

a technology protection measure with respect to any of its computers with Internet access

that protects against access through such computers to visual depictions that are--

``(I) obscene;

``(II) child pornography; or

``(III) harmful to minors; and

``(ii) is enforcing the operation of such technology protection measure during any use

of such computers by minors; and

``(B)(i) has in place a policy of Internet safety that includes the operation of a

technology protection measure with respect to any of its computers with Internet access

that protects against access through such computers to visual depictions that are--

``(I) obscene; or

``(II) child pornography; and

``(ii) is enforcing the operation of such technology protection measure during any use

of such computers)

THE ACT OF NECESSITY 6

Basically, this law states that funding for the internet will be denied to any school system that doesn’t place technology protection measures on each computer with a modem at the school. The protection measures are usually in the form of internet filters that block such sites that are deemed harmful, and block harmful pictures from being viewed. These schools also have to teach children about appropriate online behavior, and monitor online activity. “In early 2001, the FCC issued rules implementing CIPA and provided updates to those rules in 2011.” (FCC guide: Children's Internet Protection Act)

New corrections, and statutes are constantly being made to laws such as this because technology is ever growing, and with the expansion of knowledge and images, comes corruption and misuse. Congress must pass and implement protections for the citizens of America to keep us safe from our private records being disclosed to the public, and from our children viewing pornography in school. Technology is a gift, and a curse that should be handled with the utmost care. Omar N. Bradley once said, “If we continue to develop our technology without wisdom or prudence, our servant may prove to be our executioner.” (Brainy Quote)

THE ACT OF NECESSITY 7

Works Cited

18 U.S. Code § 2710 - Wrongful disclosure of video tape rental or sale records. (n.d.).

Retrieved August 18, 2014.

Brainy Quotes. (n.d.). Retrieved August 18, 2014.

"FCC guide: Children's Internet Protection Act". (2000, January. Federal Communications

Commission. Retrieved August 18, 2014.

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