2001 prentice hall, inc. all rights reserved. 1 chapter 7, legal and social issues; web...

2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved.

1Chapter 7, Legal and Social Issues; Web Accessibility

Outline7.1 Introduction7.2 Wireless Internet Regulation7.3 Privacy and Wireless Communication

7.3.1 Right to Privacy7.3.2 Wireless Internet and the Right to Privacy7.3.3 Employer and Employee: Privacy Issues

7.4 Legal Issues: Other Areas of Concern7.4.1 Defamation 7.4.2 Sexually Explicit Speech7.4.3 Children and the Internet 7.4.4 Intellectual Property: Copyright 7.4.5 Intellectual Property: Patents7.4.6 Trademarks and Domain Name Registration7.4.7 Unsolicited Commercial E-mail (Spam)7.4.8 Online Auctions7.4.9 Online Contracts7.4.10 User Agreements

7.5 Cybercrime


2Chapter 7, Legal and Social Issues; Web Accessibility

Outline7.6 Internet Taxation7.7 Social Interaction and Wireless Communication

7.7.1 Instant Messaging7.7.2 Wireless E-Mail Access7.7.3 Social Etiquette and Wireless Communication

7.8 Health and Safety7.8.1 Cell Phones and Radiation7.8.2 Cell Phones and Driving

7.9 Socio-Economic Segregation 7.10 Web Accessibility

7.10.1 Regulations and Resources7.10.2 Various Disabilities7.10.3 Web Accessibility Initiative7.10.4 Providing Alternatives for Images7.10.5 Maximizing Readability by Focusing on Structure7.10.6 JAWS® for Windows7.10.7 Other Accessibility Tools

7.11 Internet and World Wide Web Resources


3

7.1 Introduction

• Technology’s challenges to legal issues– Privacy

– Defamation and sexually explicit speech

– Intellectual property, online contracts and internet taxation

• Technology’s challenges to social issues– Constant availability

• Spectrum: scale of transmitted electromagnetic wave frequencies– Spectrum space for communications is limited


4

7.2 Wireless Internet Regulation

• Dividing the spectrum– Hertz: unit of frequency

– Federal Communications Commission (FCC) sells ranges of Hertz to companies

– Broadband (multimedia) services and increasing wireless consumers will require more spectrum

• Technology Generations– US selling 2G spectrum

– Europe and Asia already selling 3G spectrum

• Effects on businesses– License cost slows some companies, uneven global growth

– Small companies (broadcasting) cannot afford licenses


5

7.3 Privacy and Wireless Communication

• Location-based services– E911 Act: location of users with 125 meters

– Location technology raises privacy concerns


6

7.3.1 Right to Privacy

• Right to privacy not guaranteed by constitution• Protection from government intrusion secured by

constitution– 4th amendment: protection from government illegal search

and seizure

– Olmstead v. United States: government tapped telephones fell outside protection of 4th amendment

– Translation: interpretation of constitution


7

7.3.2 Wireless Internet and the Right to Privacy

• Collecting information– Opt-in policy

• User requests information

• Double opt-in policy: user requests info and replies to confirmation e-mail

– Opt-out policy• Organizations send info until user requests them to stop

• Transfer of customer location information– Companies informing wireless users how personal

information will be handled may be difficult on small screen

– Company may transfer information to partners/affiliates

– Bankrupt dot-coms can sell consumer information

– Third-party vendors have own privacy policies


8


• Location-based technology– May facilitate kidnapping and other illegal activities

– No legislation monitoring use of location-based technology

– Businesses fear legislation will slow development

• Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA) guidelines for privacy– Alert consumer when identifying location

– Opt-in as standard

– Consumers can access own information

– Same protections for all consumers



• World Wide Web Consortium’s Platform for Privacy Preferences Project (P3P)– Companies release questionnaire asking user privacy desired

• XML applications match user preferences with privacy protocols

– Means of avoiding legislation

• Doubleclick: internet advising firm– Has advertising network of 1500 banner advertisement sites

– Digital redlining: advertisers limit information seen by basing advertisements on user’s past behavior

• Recording of personal activities is privacy issue


10


• The Bankruptcy Reform Act– Monitors consumer information sale in case of bankruptcy

– Privacy policies should be followed even during bankruptcy• eBay changed policy stating they could share user’s personal

information with subsidiaries


11

7.3.3 Employer and Employee: Privacy Issues

• B2E issues with location-based technology– Restroom stops, eating tendencies and driving speed may be

monitored

• Monitoring employees at the desktop– Keystroke cops: monitors employee activities on corporate

equipment

– Irrelevant web surfing wastes corporate money and increases traffic

– Notice of Electronic Monitoring Act: employers must notify employees of surveillance


12

7.3.3 Employer and Employee: Privacy Issues

• Michael A. Smyth v. The Pillsbury Company– Mr. Smith dismissed after unprofessional e-mails

– Mr. Smith claimed Pillsbury assured that e-mails would not be reprimanded, failed under Pennsylvania law

– Mr. Smith restructured argument as violation of public policy, failed again


13

7.4 Legal Issues

• Legal issues in context of the Internet and the 1st Amendment– Defamation

– Sexually explicit speech

– Copyrights

– Patents

– Trademarks

– Unsolicited e-mails

– Online auctions


14

7.4.1 Defamation

• Defamation: injuring another’s name/reputation through false communication– Slander: spoken defamation

– Libel: written or broadcasted

• Proving defamation– Must be fault (actual malice or negligence)

– Must be evidence of actual loss

• Good Samaritan provision of Section 230 of the Telecommunications Act– Protects ISPs from defamation lawsuits


15

7.4.1 Defamation

• Cubby v. CompuServe– Individual posted defamatory statement on CompuServe

news service

– CompuServe not held liable due to status as distributor, not publisher

• Distributor not liable unless has knowledge of content

• Stratton Oakmont v. Prodigy– Prodigy claimed responsibility to remove defamatory

material• Prodigy assumed role as publisher


16

7.4.2 Sexually Explicit Speech

• The Miller Test: distinguishes obscenity from pornography– Pornography protected by 1st Amendment

– 2 conditions for obscenity• Appeal to prurient interest according to community

• Lack literary, artistic, political or scientific value when taken as a whole

• Challenges of the Internet– No defined geographical communities, hard to apply Miller

Test

– Non-content-related means for regulation: controls audience rather than material (age restrictions on certain sites)


17

7.4.2 Sexually Explicit Speech

• United States v. Thomas– Californian Thomas established pornographic web site

• Web site was legitimate by California standards but not by Tennessee standards

– Thomas found guilty of distributing obscenity to Tennessee resident

– Court suggested Thomas should have denied access to less tolerant communities


18

7.4.3 Children and the Internet

• Issues with child internet access– In public areas, children have same internet access as adults

– No geographical zoning laws in internet

– Protecting children infringes on constitutional freedom of expression

• Preventative Acts– The Communications Decency Act of 1996 (CDA) and the

Child Online Protection Act of 1998 (COPA)• Restrict pornography and harmful content

• Many believe overbroad: ambiguity of offending terms

– The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 2000• Prohibits collection of info from children 13 and under without

parental consent


19

7.4.4 Intellectual Property: Copyright

• Copyright: author’s protection of expression of idea, not idea itself– Guaranteed for life of author plus 70 years

• Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (DCMA)– Creative bodies’ rights to protect work on internet– Educators’ and resource providers’ rights to access this work

• Criteria for fair use: use of copyrighted work for education, research or criticism– Purpose of copyrighted work– Nature of copyrighted work– Amount of material reproduced– Effect of reproduction


20


• File sharing and copyright debate– Napster

• Allows members to exchange MP3 files

• Napster’s central server allows members to locate files

• Debate: Napster cannot control file use, not violating copyright

– Gnutella• Decentralized service: no central server, users operate as both

clients and servers

• Allows exchange of text, images, video and MP3’s

• Debate: Freedom of speech versus copyright infringement

– Aimster• Users share files with “buddies” on private network

• Messages encrypted for security


21


• Copyright responsibility of user, not technology– Technology must have legitimate use to justify existence

• Napster revised– BGM funding, legitimize Napster under certain conditions

– Napster will implement monthly fee starting in July 2001• Proceeds will go to artists as royalties

– Until then, Napster has undergone measures to block exchange of copyrighted material

• Gnutella also targeted by entertainment industry


22


• eXtensible Rights Markup Language (XrML)– An XML extension of Digital Property Rights Language

– Will prevent illegal use of copyrighted materials

– XrML defines usage rules• Transfer, printing and resale restrictions

– Trusted systems: read and execute XrML data

– Allows selective access when attached to certain files


23

7.4.5 Intellectual Property: Patents

• Patent: creator’s sole right to use or sale of new discovery– Includes new and unobvious methods of doing business

– Many believe patent and copyright restricts e-commerce growth and technology improvements

• Amazon.com and the 1-Click Patent– Allows future purchases in single action

• No checkout process

– Amazon patented the 1-Click system


24

7.4.6 Trademark and Domain Name Registration

• Trademark: registered name or symbol with sole rights to holder– Trademark infringement

• Parasite: selects misspelled domain name of popular domain

• Cybersquatting: buying domain names representing brick-and-mortar companies who must later buy the domain names from the cybersquatter

– Congress’ Anticbersquatting Consumer Protection Act of 1999

• Protects trademarking in cyberspace

– Businesses should buy many variations of domain name to protect from criticism

• Disgruntled customers may try to post sites with these variations on the domain name


25

7.4.7 Unsolicited Commercial E-Mail (SPAM)

• SPAM: promotions and unsolicited e-mails– Recipient takes much of cost in wireless access fees

• Whereas advertiser pays all in direct postal mail fees

– Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)• Illegal to make calls at cost to user without user’s

authorization

• Unclear if also applies to SMS

– Wireless e-mail conversions make it difficult to determine origin of SPAM


26

7.4.8 Online Auctions

• Government regulations– Some states require auctioneers to have licenses

– Many countries restrict certain types of merchandise

• Copyright infringement– Collection of Information Antipiracy Act (CIAA): prosecute

groups that take information and harm organizations from where they got it

– Intelligent agents: programs that continually search for information from Web sites to find customers’ desired items

• Fraud– Unsubstantiated bidding

– Shill bidding: sellers bid for own items to increase price


27

7.4.9 Online Contracts

• Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act of 2000 (E-Sign Bill)– Promotes online commerce by legitimizing online contracts

– Security features legitimize online contracts• Digital signatures


28

7.4.10 User Agreements

• Many web sites require user agreements before entering– Shrink-wrap agreement: agreement on product is binding

when consumer purchases

– Click-throughs: user agreements in internet arena presented in pop-up screens


29

7.5 Cybercrime

• Criminal activity on the Internet– Viruses: denial of service or loss of information

– Stock scams: individuals make false claims to raise own stock’s value

– Web-page hijacking: page used as gateway into another site

– Credit-card fraud, fabricated free offers, undeliverable and false auctions

• Cybercrime protection– “dummy” sites: warn users of typical scam sites

– Federal Trade Commission (FTC) site on consumer protection practices


30

7.5 Cybercrime

An FTC “dummy site” for NodriCaLite (left) and the FTC warning page (right).(Courtesy of Federal Trade Commission)


31

7.6 Internet Taxation

• Geographical issues– If in same state, sales tax imposed

– If in different states, use tax imposed• State in which service used imposes tax

• If vendor located in state, it collects tax

• If vendor located outside state, assess tax and pays state directly

– Company’s physical presence hard to define

– Taxation policies vary by state• Taxable in one state may not be in another

• Digital Divide– Wealthy internet users shop tax-free while those without

internet access must pay taxes


32


• Opponents to internet taxation– Taxation will inhibit internet growth

– Internet tax unneeded as higher salaries of internet jobs will produce higher income taxes

– Brick-and-mortar businesses will survive

• The Internet Tax Commission: review issue of internet taxation– Eliminate taxes on digital content

– Define “physical presence”

– Welfare internet access to all demographic groups


33


• Streamlined Sales Tax Project: panel on internet taxation issues– Suggest taxation in delivery state

• International taxation problems– Non-US business don’t collect tax when selling to US

– Undefined if business located outside US with web host in US

– Non-E.U. businesses don’t have value added tax when selling to E.U. customer

• Puts E.U. businesses at disadvantage


34

7.7 Social Interaction and Wireless Communication

• Communication from any location– Increases productivity

– Keeps in touch with family/friends

– Safety features

• What will effect be on personal lives and social structure?


35

7.7.1 Instant Messaging

• Instant Messaging: users exchange text messages and files instantly– MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger and AOL Instant

Messenger

– Available on wireless devices• Tegic T9 Text Input: facilitates messaging on phones

• Shorthand text also popular: consonants and numbers, phonetics

– Incompatibility• AOL, MSN and Yahoo can’t communicate with each other

– Text-message dictionaries• Contains shorthand terms of text-message language


36

7.7.1 Instant Messaging

AOL Instant Messenger Interface on the Palm handheld. (AOL screenshots

© 2001 America Online, Inc. Used with permission.)

Using AIM’s Tegic T9 Input.(Courtesy of America Online)


37

7.7.2 Wireless E-Mail Access

• Compose and receive e-mails from anywhere– Increased productivity

• Information exchanged timely and efficiently

– Security issues

• Inability to directly communicate when outside service provider range

• Messaging services are mostly limited to text and few offer the capability to send and receive attachments

• Security issues need to be addressed


38

7.7.3 Social Etiquette and Wireless Communication

• Neglecting calls at social event– How does reflect on company and commitment?

– How will caller react?

• Cell-phone interruptions in public areas– Vibrating features to avoid this

– Bluetooth quiet zones


39

7.8 Health and Safety

• Wireless technologies present some health concerns– cell-phone use and the effects of radiation

– cell-phone use while driving


40

7.8.1 Cell Phones and Radiation

• Speculation of cell phone radiation as carcinogen: cancer-causing– Studies not definitive

• Ionization of high-frequency radio waves is proven carcinogen– FCC mandates low cell phone frequency levels

• Many wireless technologies harmful when at close proximity, emit microwaves


41

7.8.2 Cell Phones and Driving

• Cell phones allow uses to have a means of communications for emergencies, however, dangers do exist for those that use cell phones while driving

• Distracted drivers– Hands-free phone kits

– Voice-recognition technology

• New York is first state to pass legislation prohibiting handheld cell phone use by drivers in non-emergency situations

• 39 other states considering legislation


42

7.9 Socio-Economic Segregation

• Digital divide– Socio-economic segregation between Internet and non-

Internet users– Many US citizens don’t have credit cards, use food stamps

• Alienates them from Internet

• Department of Commerce’s Falling Through the Net: Defining the Digital Divide– Households making 75K 20x more likely to have computer– Minorities also less likely

• Results– Less applicants for technical positions– But technology will advance, prices will fall and computers

will become commonplace


43

7.10 Web Accessibility

• Persons with disabilities– Web sites must provide adequate access

– Web Accessibility Initiative• Laws regarding businesses availability to persons with

disabilities


44

7.10.1 Regulations and Resources

• Accessibility: usability of application for people with disabilities

• Acts ensuring accessibility– Americans with Disabilities Act

– Telecommunications Act of 1996

– Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997

• Technologies aiding accessibility– Voice activation/recognition

– Visual enhancers – enlarged text

– Auditory aides


45


Act Purpose

Americans with Disabilities Act

The ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, state and local government, public accommodations, commercial facilities, transportation and telecommunications.

Telecommunications Act of 1996

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 contains two amendments to Section 255 and Section 251(a)(2) of the Communications Act of 1934. These amendments require that communication devices, such as cell phones, telephones and pagers, be accessible to individuals with disabilities.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997

Educational materials in the school setting must be made accessible to children with disabilities.

Fig. 7.1 Acts designed to provide access to the Internet for people with disabilities.


46


Wemedia.com home page. (Courtesy of We Media Inc.)


47

7.10.2 Various Disabilities

• 500 million individuals with various disabilities– Examples include visual, hearing and speech disabilities,

motor (physical) and cognitive (learning) disabilities

• All create challenges for Web development and Web access tailored to fit these individuals’ needs


48

7.10.3 Web Accessibility Initiative

• 1997, W3C launched Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)– Attempt to make web more accessible

– Web Content Access Guidelines 1.0• Priority-one checkpoints: required to ensure accessibility

• Priority-two checkpoints: recommended to improve accessibility

• Priority-three checkpoints: improve accessibility slightly


49

7.10.4 Providing Alternatives for Images

• Web pages – Include a textual description that defines the purpose of

every image

– Use the alt attribute of img and input elements

– Not using alt attribute increases difficulty of browsing the Web for certain individuals

• User agents– Access text-based information

– Interpret and translate Web-page source code

– Braille displays• Devices that receive data from screen-reading software


50


• User agents, cont.– Screen readers

• Programs that allow users to hear all text displayed on screens

• Reads text descriptions accompanying alt attributes

• longdesc attribute– Arguments the alt attribute description

– Contains URL that links to Web page describing image

– Currently not supported by most Web browsers

– Alternative is D-link• Provides descriptive text about graphs and charts

• Developed by CORDA Technologies


51


• Emacspeak– Translates text data to voice

– Implements auditory icons that play various sounds

• WeMedia Browser– Provides oversized buttons and keystroke commands for

easy navigation

– Reads text that the user selects• Users can control the speed and volume of the readings

• IBM Home Page Reader (HPR)– Reads text selected by the user

– Uses IBM ViaVoice to synthesize an audible voice


52

7.10.5 Maximizing Readability by Focusing on Structure

• Many Web sites use tags incorrectly– Used for aesthetic purposes rather than appropriate purposes– <h1> heading tag

• Intended as a major section head for content

• Used incorrectly to make text large and bold

– Creates problems for screen readers since they verbally inform users that a new section has been reached

• Use in accordance with its XHTML specifications

• Readability– Consider the reading level of audience

– Do not use slang and other non-traditional language


53

7.10.5 Maximizing Readability by Focusing on Structure

• Readability, cont.– Gunning Fog Index

• Formula that produces a readability grade for selected text

• Evaluates a Web site’s readability

– WCAG 1.0 suggests using a paragraph’s first sentence to convey subject


54

7.10.6 JAWS for Windows

• Job Access With Sound (JAWS)– Created by Henter-Joyce, division of Freedom Scientific

– Leading screen reader on market

– Assists people with visual impairments use technology

– Includes key commands for popular programs• Microsoft Word and Internet Explorer (IE)

• Pressing Insert + F7 in IE opens Links List dialog

– Displays all links on Web page


55

7.10.7 Other Accessibility Tools

• Braille keyboard– Has each key labeled with letter it represents

– Has equivalent Braille symbol on key

• Speech synthesizers– Aids those unable to communicate verbally

• Ocularis– Ensures that blind can use Linux operating system through

Audio User Interface (AUI)

– Integrates with word processors, calculators, finance applications, Web browsers and e-mail clients


56

7.10.7 Other Accessibility Tools

• Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language– Interprets auditory information delivered over Web

– Adds extra tracks to multimedia content• Layers of content found within single file

• Contains closed captioning

• EagleEyes– Translates eye movements into mouse movements

• Companies developing accessibility software– Adobe Systems, CitXCorp,GW Micro, Henter-Joyce,

JetForm Corp and Microsoft

2001 prentice hall, inc. all rights reserved. 1 chapter 7, legal and social issues; web...

Documents