BIS 220: Introduction to Computer Application and Systems
James Boykin

December 20, 2011

Abstract To ensure the legal security of communications between persons, associations, partnerships and the State, acts of information technology have been created to regulate many industries (Publications du Quebec, 2011). With the rapid change in technology and the misuse of information technology, laws needed to be created to regulate areas of data privacy, information transmitted digitally and to reduce the amount of paperwork. In this paper, the Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1970 and the Do Not Call Implementation Act of 2003 will be highlighted. The ethical issues surrounding the creation of these acts due to the advances in information technology that let to these acts will be highlighted.
Fair Credit Reporting Act, 1970 Due to our ability to house and store and control vast amounts of data with our computers, manipulate large amounts, there lies both social ethical implications with the use of these said computers. It is very easy to experience many right or wrong methods in using computers to access data and what can possibly be done with this information to use to our advantage. Cyber-crimes are committed every ten seconds and in order to combat it and to protect ourselves from it, laws, acts and amendments must be created and regulated by Congress to protect consumer’s rights. We make ourselves vulnerable on a daily basis to identity theft. Our privacy can be invaded very easily and is an extremely fast growing crime that leads to ruined credit, a lot of pain and requires years of hard work to repair it. Because computers are able to store huge amounts of information, the wrong person can gain access and use this information to make fraudulent purchases or gain loans deceptively. Just think about how vulnerable we become when we withdraw money from the ATM, swipe our car at the grocery store, use our card to purchase airline tickets or to reserve a rental car, our information is being stored on someone’s computer or in a database. Think about what information is collected to gain information about you and your life. You are now allowing someone access to your vital information including your social security number, your date of birth, your address and often times, your mother’s maiden name. This is valuable information to a scam artist and with this information; they can create a new life based on your information. In an effort to protect your information and allow a consumer if there has been fraudulent activity using their information, the Fair Credit Reporting Act was created. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Public Law No. 91-508, was enacted in 1970 to promote accuracy, fairness, and the privacy of personal information assembled by Credit Reporting Agencies (CRAs) (Epic.Org, 2011). The act ensures consumers are able to retrieve information that is provided to potential and current lenders, creditors, insurers, etc. that help shape the decision whether or not to provide credit or do business with regarding other services. For example, if a person wanted to apply for a line of credit from a retailer and was advised that they were denied due in part to information provided on their credit report, the consumer would be entitled to see what information was provided to assist in rendering that decision. This gives the consumer the opportunity to dispute any negative or incorrect information listed to clear their name and credit. A great feature about this act is that it prohibits and monitors who can have access to your credit files and if necessary with a written court order or permission of the consumer whose information is being accessed. The lack of credit can greatly impact a household and a consumer’s purchasing power. A poor credit rating can be the difference of the immediate satisfaction of purchasing a high-priced ticket item with the ability to pay it off over a period of time and the difference of having to wait several weeks or months to save the money to make that same purchase. US Credit markets are the most efficient in the world allowing households to smooth their consumption patterns over time, rather than postpone major purchases until incomes and asset holdings build to sufficient levels (Staten, M and Cate, F., 2003). These and many other issues are a result of advances in technology.
Do Not Call Implementation Act of 2003 Another act created due to advances in technology is the Do Not Call Implementation Act of 2003. Due to an increasing number of complaints received by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) filed by consumers against telemarketers from various companies for unwanted calls, the Do Not Call Implementation Act of 2003 was erected. The Federal Trade Commission, along with the Telephone Consumer Protection Board, established a registry where consumers could be added to reduce or eliminate the number of unwanted telemarketer calls. Consumers are able to freely register their phone number(s). Their phone number will remain on the list until they call to remove it. The increasing number of unwanted calls can be attributed to advancements in technology and creation of the automatic dialer. Years ago, telephone operators and telemarketers would take a list of phone numbers and manually call each person on that list to solicit for various types of services ranging from vacation packages, donations for charitable events and surveys to name a few. As an operator would reach a live person, they would attempt to “sell a service”. While selling this service, the operator would also collect information to validate the customer’s information and to further populate their databases. You can imagine how long this process would take. In the call center, manual dialing can take up too much time. When telemarketers dial numbers manually, they spend a considerable amount of time reviewing paper records or computer terminal screens, selecting the person to be called, finding the phone number, dialing the number, updating the records after each call and if the customer doesn't answer, the agent has to remember this and call the customer later. With manual dialing, agents spend more time attempting to find a prospect than talking (Amodio, 2011). With the use of an automatic dialer or auto-dialer software, the number of phone lines is essentially doubled and increases a telemarketers talk-time because the software/machine is doing all of the manual work for the agent. The software has the ability to bypass busy signals, disconnected phone numbers and answering machines. How does this affect the average consumer? What happens is that the consumer is now exposed to double or triple the number of unwanted calls. This can be very annoying and aggravating when you are trying to enjoy a nicely-prepared dinner with your family or home trying to complete a paper for your BIS 220 class. In either case, it becomes a nuisance and as a consumer, we have a right not to be bothered by this form of inconvenience; hence the creation of the Do Not Call Implementation List.
Conclusion
We can all agree that with each passing day technology has an impact on how we live our lives. In a perfect world, technology advancements would only serve us positively to assist in living our lives better. Similar to BASF Chemical Company’s slogan, "We don't make a lot of the products you buy. We make a lot of the products you buy better”, technology is meant to work for the greater good. However, for each positive technological advancement, there will always be those that find ways to use that same technology negatively to enhance their lives at the expense of others.

References
Publications du Québec. (2011, Dec 12). An Act to establish a Legal framework for information technology, RSQ, c C-1.1. Retrieved from http://canlii.ca/t/l1bw

Epic.Org. (2011, Dec. 10). The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and the Privacy of Your Credit Report. Retrieved from

http://epic.org/privacy/fcra/

Staten, M., Cate, F. (2003, May 13). The Impact of National Credit Reporting Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act: The Risk of New Restrictions and State Regulation. Retrieved from http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/workshops/infoflows/statements/cate02.pdf

Amodio, M. (2011, May 2). Auto Dialer VS Manual Dialing: The Great Debate. Retrieved from http://www.tmcnet.com/channels/auto-dialer/articles/170179-auto-dialer-vs-manual-dialing-great-debate.htm