New - Topic 14 - E-Commerce Legal Environment and Ethical Issues

E-Commerce Legal Environment and Ethical IssuesTopic 14

Copyright 2012 Pearson Education

Case in China: Right in Intellectual Property right?May 2008 Disney release film Wall-E film available free on one Chinese video sites, 56.com. It was before Disney produced the film in DVD format on Nov 2008.Solution: Later, Disney invested $10 mill in 56.com a popular Chinese video & file sharing site. Have 33 million registered members on 2009.The aim is to have the power / authority to curb pirated video & take action against copyrighted violatorsViacom (owner of iFilm.com) sued Googles YouTube for 1 billion & request to see database contain info about all videos in YouTubeSolution: Viacom lost judge in favor to Google because Viacom also practiced the same procedure since year 2005!


SummaryViolations of intellectual property right the major problems in EC environment software, movies, music and books.Problems arise due to several reasons:-Difficult to monitor millions of users and their postingsMany countries do not have much legal of protection right difficult & expensive to enforce


Ethical Challenges and GuidelinesEthics -The branch of philosophy that deals with what is considered to be right and wrongHow individual choose to interactNature of duties among each otherFor example, ones duty is not to intrude on a persons privacyPrivacy - The right to be left alone and free of unreasonable personal intrusionsIssues of privacy, ownership, control and security must be confronted to understand ethical challenges in EC

14-*

Laws depicts ethical principles, but both are not same. Unethical, may be not illegal. Law is coding of ethical norms, not all ethical codes are incorporated into public law.ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND GUIDELINESExample: Who Owns User-Generated Content?Facebook case start on year 2009. Users give FB irrevocable, perpetual, nonexclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license; to use retain & display content posted enable FB to sell customer data to marketers! (FB need more revenue sources)14-*Ethical Challenges and Guidelines


Business ethics - A form of applied ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environmentThe Issues of Internet Abuse in the Workplace22 hours online every week, quarter of it for personal mattersMonitoring EmployeesIs It Ethical?Spyware Latitude by Google : giving Google the ability to monitor peoples whereabouts14-*Ethical Challenges and Guidelines


EC ETHICAL ISSUESRelated to legal issues:Intellectual property rights ownership and value of information and intellectual property. Privacy collection, storage and dissemination of information about individuals.Free speech versus censorship (to control offensive, illegal & potentially dangerous information in Internet)Consumer and merchant protection against fraud

Codes of Ethics corporate codes of ethics state the rules and expected behaviors and actions refer Exhibit 14.2; code of ethics more like a simple rules of etiquette

14-*Ethical Challenges and Guidelines


Intellectual Property LawINTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IN E-COMMERCE (some term & definition)intellectual property(IP) Creations of the mind, such as inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs, used in commerceintellectual property lawArea of the law that includes patent law, copyright law, trademark law, trade secret law, and other branches of the law such as licensing and unfair competition14-*


Intellectual Property LawcopyrightAn exclusive right of the author or creator of a book, movie, musical composition, or other artistic property to print, copy, sell, license, distribute, transform to another medium, translate, record, perform, or otherwise useinfringementUse of the work without permission or contracting for payment of a royalty14-*Infringe break law / agreement; intrude on a right or privilege


Intellectual Property Lawdigital rights management (DRM)An umbrella term for any of several arrangements that allow a vendor of content in electronic form to control the material and restrict its usagefair useThe legal use of copyrighted material for noncommercial purposes without paying royalties or getting permissionpatentA document that grants the holder exclusive rights to an invention for a fixed number of years14-*


Intellectual Property Law14-*trademarkA symbol used by businesses to identify their goods and services; government registration of the trademark confers exclusive legal right to its usetrademark dilutionThe use of famous trademarks in public that diminishes the capacity of the mark to distinguish goods or services, or tarnishes the mark in the eyes of the consumer


Intellectual Property LawFAN SITES VS HATE SITESFan Sites may violates IP right e.g people get advanced copy of new movies or TV programsHate Sites disseminate negative comments & can cause problems for corporationsCyberbashingDomain name that criticizes an organization or personE.g paypalsucks.com, walmartblows.com14-*


ETHICAL ISSUES IN EC:-Privacy Rights and ProtectionFree Speech online VS Privacy RightsThe Legal & Regulatory EnvironmentE-DiscoveryCyberbullying


Privacy Rights, Protection, and Free SpeechPrivacy the right to be left alone & free from unreasonable personal intrusions. Have been legal, ethical and social issues in most countries.Social network change the landscape of privacy and its protection the explosion of online communication technologies create complex, new ethical dilemmas for business & government agenciesPRIVACY RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONopt-out - Business practice that gives consumers the opportunity to refuse sharing information about themselves. E.g FB list help to organize friends, can apply individual privacy policiesopt-in - Agreement that requires computer users to take specific steps to allow the collection of personal information14-*


FREE SPEECH ONLINE vs PRIVACY PROTECTIONFree Speech kebebasan bersuara Example case: April 2010 - A U.S motorcyclist filmed its own arrested by non-uniformed police officer in public place. Posted it to YouTube. Now facing charged 5 years in prison for illegally taking up the video w/o the police ignorance. Still fighting under the name of Free Speech.Free Speech Online vs Child Protection a debateTo protect children from offensive online content regarding to filter technologies in schools and librarieslegal precedent - A judicial decision that may be used as a standard in subsequent similar14-*Privacy Rights, Protection, and Free Speech


THE PRICE OF PROTECTING INDIVIDUALS PRIVACYWith the powerful computers, targeting algorithm barriers for accessing & manipulating information from a large-scale database BEING ELIMINATED!Several cases:-Airport security personnel in Europe circulating image full body scan for airline travelers scan body before boarding is a MUST!Craiglist in U.S top provider of prostitution services. Lead to reasons of missing children, runaways, abused women, women trafficking. Read more IN TEXT BOOK about their cases & how police authority in Illinois fight using courts order for Craiglist to shut down their operations.Privacy Rights, Protection, and Free Speech


14-*HOW INFORMATION ABOUT INDIVIDUALS IS COLLECTED AND USED ONLINEWebsite Registration marketing websites, online magazines, vendors, government sites, social networksCookies allow websites to collect info about users preferences, interest & surfing patternsSpyware as a threat towards privacy and intellectual propertyAll unwanted software programs designed to steal proprietary information, or that target data stores containing confidential information

Privacy Rights, Protection, and Free Speech


RFIDs Threat to Privacy tag at clothes, real time trackingOther Methods to collect data about people:-

14-*Privacy Rights, Protection, and Free Speech


PRIVACY PROTECTION BY INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES in social network, can used NYOB, a special encryption software, operate on a fake data. Other software programs & IT procedures to protect privacy:-14-*Privacy Rights, Protection, and Free Speech


Other EC Legal IssuesTHE LEGAL AND REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT advances in communication & IT, ease of data searching has opened towards : stealth discovery, privacy invasion, unfair misuse of personal information, copyright infringement, identity theftelectronic discovery (e-discovery)Any process in which electronic data is sought, located, secured & searched with the intent to use as evidence in civil or criminal legal case. Discovery in civil litigation that deals with information in electronic format; also referred to as electronically stored information (ESI)Types of Data E-Discovery text, images, calendar files, databases, spreadsheet, audio file, animationHow Electronic Discovery Is Used in electronic form

14-*


Other EC Legal IssuescyberbullyingThe use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group, that is intended to harm others- Intended to hurt & embarrass other people- includes threats, sexual remarks, subject of ridicule in forums, posting false statement Cyberbullying (children) Versus CyberStalking (Adult to Adult14-*


Consumer and Seller Protection from Online FraudCONSUMER (BUYER) PROTECTIONRepresentative Tips and Sources for Your Protection (page 744)Make sure enter correct websitesCheck for unfamiliar sites for the address, telephone numberCheck about the seller on trust verification site BBBOnline, TRUSTeThird-Party Assurance ServicesProtection by Third-Party Intermediary E.g EbayTRUSTes Trustmark nonprofit group to build users trust 7 confidenceBetter Business Bureau provides reports on business where consumer can review before make ourchaseWhich? ensure online traders abide the code proactive guidelineWeb Trust Seal and Others similar to TRUSTeEvaluation by Consumers include product and vendor evaluation

14-*


Consumer and Seller Protection from Online FraudCONSUMER (BUYER) PROTECTION..(cont).Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA)Major computer crime law to protect government computers and other Internet-connected computersSELLER PROTECTIONSellers also can be attacked illegally& unethicallyCustomer deny place orders, copyright CD but sell it to others, false payment, customer use different nameWhat Can Sellers Do? cardscop.com, biometric etc

14-*


Consumer and Seller Protection from Online FraudPROTECTING BUYERS AND SELLERS: ELECTRONIC AND DIGITAL SIGNATURESelectronic signatureA generic, technology-neutral term that refers to the various methods by which one can sign an electronic recordAuthentication and Biometric ControlsGOVERNMENT REGULATION OF E-COMMERCETo protect both buyers and sellers~~Abisshhh~~14-*


*********************

Documents

New - Topic 14 - E-Commerce Legal Environment and Ethical Issues