Information Technology Acts Paper
BIS/220
October 3, 2012

With the internet changing constantly every day the United States Congress are implementing many legislative acts to address concerns with the usage of different kinds of technology. There are many advances in information technology that resulted in ethical issues such as the creation of the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) which was put into law in the year of 2000 by Congress. This law addresses any concerns about access to offensive content on the internet in the schools and libraries. Children and teenagers are exposed to the internet daily in schools, public, and at home. The internet can expose children to inappropriate material and predators online. The schools and libraries must enforce an Internet safety policy that contains protection measures, which block or filter the internet access to images that are obscene, child pornography, and what is harmful to minors. The main purpose of the act is to protect children from the dangers that the internet has ("Federal Communications Commission", n.d.).
The No Electronic Theft (NET) Act was enacted by Congress in 1997 to help prosecute of copyright violations on the internet. It makes it a federal crime to copy, distribute, and share copies of electronic works that are copyrighted, such as movies, games, and music. Also applicable in means of making copyrighted material available over networks. Before this Act was passed people who purposely distributed copied software over the internet did not face criminal penalties if they didn’t make profit off of it. Violation of the electronic copyrighting will carry out a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a fine of $250,000 ("University Information Technology Services", 2011).

Congress enacted the Fair Credit Reporting Act in 1970 because the improper use of credit records. The reporting agencies put in place procedures for meeting the needs of commerce for consumer credit, personal insurance, and other information in a manner that is fair to the consumer, which is confidential, accurate, relevant, and properly used (Maurer & Thomas, 1997). The fair credit report act even has an impact on how employers conduct outside investigations on employees.
The FTC made an amendment to the Fair Credit Report Act making newly expanded disclosures notification and consent requirements to apply to employers who use the Fair Credit Report Act when making employment decisions (Morgan, Owens & Gomes, 2000). Employers are required to provide in writing to employee’s using clear understandable language, stating that a consumer investigative report may be obtained for employment purposes. Employer must give notice to employee separate from any other disclosures. Employer must also give written consent before he or she can investigate further. If an employer decides that an investigation is an appropriate action second notice disclosure must be given to the employee. The employer has three days to request an investigative report for an outside consumer reporting agency. A third notice must be given to the employee of the nature of the investigation only if the employee requests by notice. The employer must give a written description within five days. The employer must also let the Fair Credit Report Act know that required disclosures have been made to the individual who is investigated. A copy of the FCRA must be given to the employee to correct any information that is incorrect on the report.