Cyber Ethics and Libraries
Freedom to Information: Filtering and Censorship
Should library computers have filters?
What is objectionable material and do we have a right to or obligation to block this material or to provide open access to all material?
Examples:
- Sexual (ie: pornography)
- Religious (ie: pagan)
- Racial (ie: the KKK)
- Political (ie: terrorist)
ALA Websites:
- Freedom of Information Act
- Responding to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requests
- Children's Internet Protection Act
From CIPA Questions and Answers by the ALA
Q: What is “obscenity”?
A: The federal obscenity statute cited in CIPA does not itself contain an express definition of
obscenity. However, the Supreme Court (in Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15 (1973)) has
established a test for obscenity that is now implicitly incorporated into the federal statute:(a) Whether “the average person, applying contemporary community standards,”
would find that the material, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest;(b) whether the work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct
specifically defined by the applicable state or federal law to be obscene; and(c) whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or
scientific value. (4)
The Platform for Internet Content Selection (PICS Standard) ~ "The PICS specification enables labels (metadata) to be associated with Internet content. It was originally designed to help parents and teachers control what children access on the Internet, but it also facilitates other uses for labels, including code signing and privacy. The PICS platform is one on which other rating services and filtering software have been built." Also see "Cybersmut" by Joseph Westfall and Frequently Asked Questions.
Potential Implications of Filters on Library Computers:
- Lack of filters may lead to a hostile environment for patrons -- including children (see CIPA) and librarians (see MPL case)
- Expensive Harassment Lawsuits (more expensive than First Amendment Violations) ~ Eugene Volokh, a law professor at UCLA (New York Times)
- Lack of filtering can lead to making it difficult for other patrons to use the resources (ie: pornography sites that don't let users leave)
- First Amendment rights of all patrons (including those that wish to look at 'objectionable' websites)
- Potentially researching 'objectionable' material may be blocked (ie: sociology student researching terror groups)
- Filters may filter out 'valid' information that uses the same wording
- White listing vs. Black listing (ie: controls what language patrons can use vs. blocking information from being retrieved)
Case Study:
Minnesota Public Library Case ~ The New York Times
Hennepin
County Library Board Policy
"Squimish Librarians" ~ Eugene Volokh
Social Networking Sites
- Privacy Concerns (ie hacking)
- Anonymity on the Internet
(easy to 'be someone else' or to not feel impact of actions as harshly
as in person)
- Online Predators
- Online Stalkers/Harassment/Cyber Bullies
Pirating and Fandom
Fandom -- Commercial vs. Private Use
Case Studies:
- Music -- Napster to I-Tunes
- Movies -- YouTube to Official Website Integration
- Images, Text, etc. -- Fandom Sued to Fandom Rewarded
Additional Case Study:
The reward of breaking the law. Is this the world's most addictive game? ~ Ben Silverman for YahooGames!
Plagiarism
- Easy to Find Papers to Buy or Copy
- Easy to Cut and Paste
- Citation Difficulties
- How to cite? How to paraphrase? Who is the author? What is the date?
Helpful Websites:
Academic Integrity and Plagiarism ~ by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Plagiarism: Prevention and Detection strategies ~ by University of Cincinnati
Online Video Tutorial ~ by Rutgers University Libraries
Controversies with Plagiarism Software (ie: Turnitin -- Wikipedia's Article)
Case Studies:
McGill University Student vs. iParadigms, LLC (January 2004) *
McGill student wins fight over anti-cheating website
Virginia and Arizona HS Students vs. iParadigms, LLC (March 2008) *
- "Typically, if you quote something for education purposes, scholarship or news reports, that's considered fair use, but it seems like Turnitin is a commercial use. They turn around and sell this service, and it's expensive. And the service only works because they get these papers." ~ Andrew Beckerman-Rodau, co-director of the intellectual property law program at Suffolk University Law School. Also see Library Journal article.
- "Ruled that fair use was not violated because under federal law, the unauthorized use of copyrighted work for purposes such as teaching, scholarship, and research 'is not an infringement of copyright.'"..."Schools have a right to decide how to monitor and address plagiarism in their schools and may employ companies like iParadigms to help do so...As the Supreme Court has recognized in the constitutional context, 'the rights of students in public school are not automatically coextensive with the rights of adults in other settings' and 'the rights of students must be applied in light of the special characteristics of the school environment.'" ~ Judge Claude Hilton of the Eastern District of Virginia
Librarians Role in Teaching Cyber Ethics
Information Literacy
- Informal
- Reference Interview
- Online Tutorials (see Rutgers example)
- Formal
- Information Literacy Sessions
- Classroom Integration
Works Cited (in the order of appearance):
"Freedom of Information Act." American Libary Association.
"Responding to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requests." American Library Association.
"Children's Internet Protection Act." American Library Association.
"CIPA Questions and Answers." American Library Association.
"The Platform for Internet Content Selection (PICS Standard)." W3C (MIT, ERCIM, Keio).
Westfall, Joseph. "Cybersmut."
"[PICS] Frequently Asked Questions
Volokh, Eugene. "Eugene Volokh."
Kaplan, Carl S. "Controversial Ruling on Library Filters." The New York Times: From Cyber Law Journal. June 1, 2001.
Silverman, Ben. "Is this the world's most addictive game?" YahooGames! Sept. 22, 2008.
"Turnitin." Wikipedia. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turnitin#Controversy_and_litigation>.
"McGill student wins fight over anti-cheating website." CBC News. Jan. 16, 2004.
Oleck, Joan. "Judge Rules That Turnitin Does Not Violate Students' Copyrights." School Library Journal. Mar. 31, 2008.
The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.
* iParadigms, LLC is the company responsible for Turnitin.
Omnibot 2000's photo was found on Flickr <http://www.flickr.com/photos/lifeontheedge/351693015/%20>. Omnibot 2000 enjoys Thai food, long walks on the beach, ethics, and Olivia Newton John. He currently resides in Canada.
For further reading on Cyber Ethics please consider the website of The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University. Many of the sources used in this presentation were provided here.
Last Updated October 25, 2008, by Group
Awesomezors. This page by Jennifer Veile.