Information Technology Acts Paper

BIS220
July 15
Information Technology Acts Paper The Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) was enacted by Congress in 2000 to address concerns about children’s access to obscene or harmful content over the Internet. CIPA applies to any web site that is directed to children under 13 that collects personal information from them or to any web site that collects personal information where they know that the information that they are collecting comes from children. Its basic provisions require that a "clear and prominent" link to the privacy policy must exist on the home page and that the privacy policy itself must be "clearly written and understandable." Furthermore, the legislation explicitly states what must be included in the content of the privacy policy -- this includes things such as the contact information for the operators of the page, the kinds of information that will be collected from children, how the information that is collected will be used, and information about what rights parents have to their child's information (Stanford). The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) is the federal government’s principal legal weapon in the battle to protect computer systems and electronically stored information from thieves and vandals. A criminal statute that can be enforced by the U.S. Department of Justice, the CFAA also authorizes private parties to bring a civil damages action against anyone who violates its terms. Two circuits have reasonably construed the CFAA in order to avoid an overbroad interpretation of its terms. Congress, however, may not be interested in clarifying the CFAA and instead may create new and needless ambiguity as to the meaning of its terms (Walser, McNeill & Zuckerman). Some courts have construed those terms quite broadly. For example, some courts have decided that a person violates the CFAA if he or she uses a computer to obtain information or for any other purpose not expressly permitted by the computer’s owner. An employee would violate the act if he uses his employer’s proprietary information for his own profit, even though he was entitled to access and use that information for his employer’s benefit; if his use of a computer violates a state-law duty of honesty; or if he violates any provision of an Internet service provider’s terms-of-service contract. Other courts have read the CFAA far more narrowly. They have concluded that the statute is concerned with accessing information by means of a computer, not with the subsequent use to which the information is put. Those courts have held that a person does not violate the CFAA if he has permission to access information for any purpose, even if he later misuses whatever information he obtains. Under that interpretation of the CFAA, an employee would not act unlawfully by using his employer’s proprietary information for his own benefit as long as the employee was entitled to access that material in his job. Information technology has raised new possibilities for behavior for which laws and rules of acceptable conduct have not yet been developed. Information technology is introducing changes that create new ethical issues for societies to debate and resolve. Increasing computing power, storage, and networking capabilities—including the Internet—can expand the reach of individual and organizational actions and magnify their impacts. The ease and anonymity with which information can be communicated, copied, and manipulated in online environments are challenging traditional rules of right and wrong behavior. Ethical, social, and political issues are closely related. Ethical issues confront individuals who must choose a course of action, often in a situation in which two or more ethical principles are in conflict (a dilemma). Social issues spring from ethical issues as societies develop expectations in individuals about the correct course of action. Political issues spring from social conflict and are mainly concerned with using laws that prescribe behavior to create situations in which individuals behave correctly (Laudon & Laudon).

References
Laudon, J., & Laudon, K. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.prenhall.com/behindthebook/0132304619/pdf/laudon MIS10_CH-04 FINAL.pdf

Stanford Edu . Retrieved from http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu

Walser, R., McNeill, J. B., & Zuckerman, J. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.heritage.org/research/reports