Computer, Ethics and Society

QUESTION 1: (18 points) Compare and contrast the concept of ownership rights for intellectual property
with those pertaining to privacy rights within today’s technologically dependent society. Provide concrete
examples of one ethical, one societal and one legal problem associated with each concept.
(Around 350 words), six sources included.

QUESTION 2: (32 points) How in the past 35 years has the U.S. government responded with legislation
that minimizes James Moor’s assertion (in “What is Computer Ethics,” 1985, Metaphilosophy, 16: 266-75)
that computer ethics is necessary due to either a lack of policies (laws) or the existence of inadequate
policies pertaining to computer and information technology usage and/or conduct? Illustrate and explain
your response with two detailed examples of legislation in each of the following areas: 1) intellectual
property; 2) computer and network security; 3) networked communications; and 4) privacy.
(Around 350 words), eight sources included.

QUESTION 3: (40 points) In the NOVA movie, “The KGB, The Computer and Me,” Cliff Stoll created fake
government and military documents, planting them on Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s computers.
The purpose was to keep Markus Hess, a hacker, connected to its computers long enough for a telephone
trace to be completed in West Germany. The tactic worked, resulting in Hess’ and others’ arrests and
prosecutions.
In a thorough, coherent response, analyze the rightness or wrongness of Cliff Stoll’s action — dubbed
“Operation Showerhead” in his book, The Cuckoo’s Egg, upon which the movie was based — from each of the
following perspectives: Act Utilitarianism; Rule Utilitarianism; Kantianism; and Social Contract Theory.
(Around 450 words)