Privacy and Surveillance

1
Privacy and Surveillance
2
Question for You

• On a hypothetical college campus, police are
  worried that students demonstrations around the
  student center might one day become violent, so
  they install surveillance cameras.
• The college hires you to program a database
  system to store and identify frequent attendees
  using data mining and pattern recognition
  algorithms.
• What other software system features would you
  recommend?

3
Tolerance (and Precision) Privacy (and
Services) Control, Checks and Balances(and
Power Relationships)

• You choose!

4
Tolerance and Precision

1. How fast do you speed on the freeway?
2. Do you ever race a yellow light?
3. Did you ever skip this class?
4. Have you ever turned in a homework late?
5. Did you ever get an email about an illicit
   service? Illegal charity? Subversive subject
   line?
6. Did you ever copy a music CD? Who did you give it
   to? Who should know?
7. Did you ever write a computer program with a bug
   in it?
8. Did you ever make a mistake using software
   e.g., Web page form, wrong menu selection, wrong
   application selection, etc.?

5
Tolerance and Precision

• Automated surveillance can have a high degree (or
  low degree) of precision depending on how it is
  programmed.
• It can have a short shelf life or long
  depending on how it is programmed.
• It can have restricted or general access
• It can have software faults and back doors or
  other malicious programming.
• It can be prone to usability errors or lack
  desired functionality.

6
Tolerance and Precision Issues

• Precision
• Duration
• Distribution
• Verification and Validation
• Conformance, Correctness
• Usefulness and Usability
• and more

7
Privacy and Services

• Should protesters be photographed? Fingerprinted?
  Etc.
• Even if they violated no laws?
• But they might commit a crime in the future,
  mightnt they?
• Should businesses continue be required to report
  their policy and use of your personal information
  and habits?
• After all, it costs money and drives up prices.

8
Privacy and Services Issues

• Tolerance
• Checks and Balances
• Your rights

9
Control, Checks and Balancesand Power
Relationships

• Do you slow down on the highway if you see a
  patrol car?
• Do you speed up if it was just private security?
• Should authorities be exempt from surveillance?
• Or should they have greater scrutiny? Equal?
• Should certain classes of people (you define
  class) be exempt from surveillance?
• After all, any surveillance costs taxpayers money.

10
Control, Checks and Balancesand Power
Relationships

• Should I assume every one cheated on their
  assignment and collect data to disprove that
  assertion?
• Or assume that most people didnt cheat?
• Should I tell you ahead of time what my
  assumption is?
• Should you have a way to appeal?
• Does it matter? Why?

11
Control, Checks and Balancesand Power
Relationships Issues

• Self-policing and Freedom of Expression
• Your Rights?
• Who decides?
• Majority
• Authorities

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You choose!

• Research and Education, Being Informed
• Public Hearings
• State and Federal Representatives
• Voting
• Talking to your friends and family
• Asking for checks and balances

13
References

• Parenti, C. The Soft Cage Surveillance in
  America, Basic Books, New York, 2003, Chapter 1,
  pp. 1-12.
• Garrison, J., Cameras to Keep Watch in Hollywood,
  Los Angeles Times, October 28, 2004.
• Chartand, S., A technique to help combat the
  online piracy of music, The New York Times, May
  17, 2004.
• Wardell, J., British court orders Internet
  companies to identify 28 alleged music pirates,
  Associated Press, October 15, 2004.
• Pugmire, L., Ontario Officers File Suit Over
  Secret Locker-Room Taping, Los Angeles Times,
  Inland Empire Edition, October 29, 2004.

14
Question for You

• On a hypothetical college campus, police are
  worried that students demonstrations around the
  student center might one day become violent, so
  they install surveillance cameras.
• The college hires you to program a database
  system to store and identify frequent attendees
  using data mining and pattern recognition
  algorithms.
• What other software system features would you
  recommend?

15
Question for You

• Surveillance of student demonstrations identify
  frequent attendees.
• What other software system features would you
  recommend?

• FAIZAL, ERWIN
• CHEW, VICTOR TSE
• KANG, CHASE KYUNGNAM
• CHANDRA, ANDREAS KURNIAWAN
• NIP, KAREN
• BUSTILLOS, OMAR MARCOS
• NODA, TAKAHIRO
• AHLUWALIA, JASJIT SINGH
• KIM, TAE YONG
• LI, SHUNSUEN
• TAYLOR, BRAD JAMES

16
Sample Multiple Choice Question

• Which of the following are problems with
  mechanical lever voting machines?
• a. There is no possibility to audit or recount
  votes.
• b. It is confusing to record and count write-in
  candidates.
• c. It is near impossible to maintain them because
  of their age.
• d. All of the above
• e. None of the above

17
Sample Multiple Choice Question

• What are some of the main concerns in developing
  a voting system?
• a. Security
• b. Fairness
• c. Usability
• d. All of the above
• e. None of the above