School of Computing

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• Renaat Verbruggen
• School of Computing
• Dublin City University
• renaat_at_computing.dcu.ie
• 700.5257
• L.2.43

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WHY STUDY CYBER ETHICS?
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Who are these people?
Peter Chapman
Ashleigh Hall
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Case...
A serial sex offender was today sentenced to life
in prison after he admitted kidnapping, raping
and murdering a teenager whom he ensnared using a
fake profile on Facebook. Peter Chapman was told
he must serve at least 35 years in prison by
judge Peter Fox today, following the killing of
Ashleigh Hall, who was 17. The judge said he was
"a very great danger to young women, and for what
it is worth, I cannot foresee your
release". Sentencing him at Teesside crown court,
the judge said Chapman had been the architect of
"an evil scheme, very carefully brought, and with
considerable detail, to trap your victim". The
killer had claimed to be a handsome teenager and
used the profile to lure the teenager into
meeting him after he befriended her through
Facebook. In reality, he was an emaciated,
33-year-old convicted double rapist, who was
almost toothless and living in his car.
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Case...

• Graham Reeds QC, for the prosecution, told the
  court Chapman had claimed to be called DJ Pete or
  Pete Cartwright.
• "The photograph is not of him. It is of a
  barechested and good-looking boy, who is
  apparently in his late teens."
• Chapman was, in fact, "a somewhat plainer-looking
  man who could pass for being rather older than
  his 33 years. When she met him on 25 October last
  year, he kidnapped, raped and murdered her."
• The prosecutor described how the teenager
  suffered from low-esteem.
• The night before Ashleigh's body was found, she
  had told her mother she was going to stay with a
  friend.

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Case ...

• In order to entice her into his car, Chapman sent
  her a text message saying the boy's father would
  pick her up. He texted her to say "My Dad's on
  his way, babe."
• She replied "He's here, babe." Once in the car,
  he attacked her.
• Ashleigh's body was found dumped in a farmer's
  field near Sedgefield, County Durham, in October.
  Her arms were bound and tape was put over her
  face, suffocating her to death.
• Chapman was arrested by chance in a separate
  police inquiry after a nationwide alert went out
  to trace his car after he had failed to comply
  with the requirements of his sex offenders'
  registration. During initial interviews he told
  police they could "crush his car". He later lost
  his nerve and confessed to murder.

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Questions
Facebook security measures criticised after
Ashleigh Hall murder
Facebook for not adding a panic button, created
by the Home Office's Child Exploitation and
Online Protection Centre, to its site. Ceop says
the button, a large graphic which once installed
features prominently on each profile page and
gives internet safety advice, should be added to
all social networking websites.
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In a statement released today, Facebook said it
had "a variety of measures people can use to
protect themselves from unwanted contact and we
strongly encourage their use". It said it was
"not clear how these two met" but it was "deeply
saddened" by Ashleigh's death."What is clear is
that Peter Chapman was a twisted, determined
individual with an evil agenda who used every
online and offline opportunity to meet people,"
it said. "This case serves as a painful reminder
that all internet users must use extreme caution
when contacted over the internet by people they
do not know."We echo the advice of the police,
who urge people not to meet anyone they have been
contacted by online unless they know for certain
who they are, as there are unscrupulous people in
the world with malevolent agendas."
Facebook Response
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Political Response
The force referred its handling and review of the
Chapman case to the IPCC after the home
secretary, Alan Johnson, demanded answers.
Johnson called on the police to "respond" and
said lessons "needed to be learned" following
Ashleigh's murder. Huhne also said people on the
sex offenders register should have their internet
activity monitored, although he admitted such a
scheme would not be "infallible", as individuals
could use computers outside the home, such as in
internet cafes.
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Police Advice
The government plans to launch an advertising
campaign on how to use the internet safely.
Parents will be advised to keep computers in
areas where they can monitor their use. Durham
police's chief superintendent, Andy Reddick, said
Ashleigh Hall's death should be a "wake-up call
to parents and internet companies".
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Technical Response
The Liberal Democrats' home affairs spokesman,
Chris Huhne, said the sex offenders register
should be upgraded to take account of the use of
the internet. He said "We do not even require
the registration of IP and email addresses of sex
offenders, which has now become typical in the
United States. This would allow police to monitor
social networking activity."
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Ethical Response?
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Links

• There is a full set of links on the homepage for
  my M.Sc. Course in Law and Ethics
• http//www.computing.dcu.ie/renaat/ca613/ca613ove
  rview.html

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Computing Cases
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(No Transcript)
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Extensive Ethics Sites
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Philosophy Links
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Books
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Questions?