COSC244 Ethics Assignment 2014

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COSC244 Ethics Assignment 2014

Each year this assignment asks you to think ethically about something topical. There were so many bad things happening in the computer world this
year that it was hard to choose one. (Un)fortunately, there’s one that you are quite likely to encounter.
Mobile app spying
A recent article in comp.risks by Bill Snyder reported that
The vast majority of the most popular iOS and Android mobile apps collect a variety of personal data from users, including location
details, address book contacts, and calendar information, according to a just-released survey by Appthority, a company that advises
businesses on security.
The source for that was Bill Synder’s article in InfoWorld. That article in turn is a summary of the findings in Appthority’s report. There is a local
copy. Quoting the Introduction,
This year Appthority witnessed consistent risky app behaviors across both platforms and compiled the Top 10 Risky App Behaviors that
put consumers and businesses at risk. Appthority determined that the top risky app behaviors most often fall into one of two categories:
sensitive data being captured and sensitive data being shared.
What kinds of data are the most popular apps capturing and where is that data going? This report explains how risky apps access user and
corporate data and how that data could be potentially misused. Appthority also examines which third parties are receiving or buying data.
We have experimented with having 3rd year students write programs for iOS and get them in Apple’s App Store. They succeed. You could well write
an Android or iOS application in the next couple of years, and might find yourself writing one for pay.
What to do
Think about five people. These people were invented for this assignment, but people like them found themselves in situations very much like these.
1. Andrew owns a software company. It hasn’t been doing too well, and he has come up with the idea of deploying a free iOS game that harvests
user data and selling it.
9/14/2014 COSC244 Ethics Assignment 2014
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2. Barbara works for Andrew. She is his best programmer. Her father has Alzheimer’s and is in a rest home; it costs a lot of money to keep him
there, so she needs a good job.
3. Charles is a senior manager at a local advertising agency, Satchel & Satchel. He is keen to target advertisements to the right mark (OED sense
25b) at the right time and is thinking of buying data from Andrew.
4. Diana is a busy accountant who likes to relax with computer games.
5. Edward works for the Police. He is aware of the fuss that has been made about the NSA, but is enthusiastic about how spyware could help the
Police notice crimes and catch criminals. He is talking with Andrew about buying the data too, and whether the game could be adapted to suit
Police needs better.
Your answer will have four parts, one for everyone except Barbara. Each part will have two subparts:
What duties does Barbara have towards this person? How far should she go in satisfying their wishes? (½ mark)
What guidance the New Zealand IITP code provide, with section numbers (½ mark)?
Submission
Your report should be two to four pages (if printed double sided, this would be 1 to 2 sheets of paper), with COSC244, page number, your name, and
your student id on each sheet. Divide and label the parts clearly.
Your report should be a PDF and be submitted electronically. Put your report in a directory containing no other PDFs and then enter the command
ethics-submit
in a terminal inside that directory. You will be asked to confirm that the correct file is being submitted and then the message “Submission complete”
will be printed.
Resources
IITP Code of Practice (PDF)
IITP Code of Conduct (PDF)
Appthority report

Ethics: a definition
An ethical system is a set of principles, norms,
and rules that helps individuals in a community of
thinking, feeling, agents make painful decisions in
a way that they believe will preserve their kind.

If Builders Stuff Up
?
Subcontractors might not get paid
?
People might lose money selling their houses
?
A house might be ready way too late
?
People might get sick from a leaky house
?
People might die from a collapsing building

If we stuff up
?
Teachers might not get paid
?
People might lose money in their business
?
A program might be delivered years late
?
People might get late or wrong treatment
?
People might even die (Therac 25, LAS)
?
?
What we do has consequences for other people

Meta-requirements
?
You have to be able to learn an ethical system
?
It cannot be too complicated.  It is unlikely that
anyone knows all the laws, regulations, and by-laws
in New Zealand.
?
You have to be able to use an ethical system
?
It cannot require you to do the impossible
?
It cannot require information no-one could get
?
You may need to use it fast (shallow computing)
?
It has to be public so others know what to expect

Naturalness
?
Humans are a social species
?
Thanks to mirror neurons, we literally feel the
pain of others
?
Some other animals are known to experience
such empathy
?
A sense of fairness is also a biological
inheritance
?
Nietzsche was wrong about the origin of morals

Perfection — Not!
?
We have small heads and live in a complex
world.
?
We make mistakes in evaluating situations.
?
We make mistakes in carrying out rules.
?
No system of rules we can remember could
possibly be complete.
?
A system needs to provide means for
reconciliation and restoration.

The Thelemite System
?
“Do what thou wilt”
shall be the whole of the Law – Aleister Crowley
?
Sounds like a doctrine of devils, eh?  What if
what I will is to kill everyone I meet?
?
No, say the Thelemites, this refers to your True
Will, not what you happen to feel like.
?
But how do we know what our True Will is?
?
How do our neighbours know?
?
Can we be wrong about our True Will?

The Wiccan Rede
?
“An it harm none, do what thou wilt.”
?
But what counts as harm?
?
Who decides?
?
If we want to do X to Y and today Y says that’s
OK, but looking back 50 years Y says it was
harm, did we do right or wrong today?
?
We cannot know all the effects of our actions,
we cannot even in most cases calculate the
probabilities of foreseeable effects.

Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism is the idea that the moral worth of an
action is solely determined by its contribution to
overall utility, that is, its contribution to happiness
or pleasure as summed among all persons. It is
thus a form of consequentialism, meaning that the
moral worth of an action is determined by its
outcome—the ends justify the means.
— Schools Wikipedia

What’s wrong with that?
It is an ethics for beings with god-like powers of
perception, foresight, and calculation.  Since it is
impossible for us to foretell the consequences of
our actions, it is an ethics we cannot live by.
Classic example: would you save a child in
danger?  Yes?  You didn’t know it was going to
grow up a Hitler, a Stalin, a Pol Pot, did you!
Millions died horribly because you saved that
child.  You should have known better! (:-)

Granny Weatherwax
“Sin is treating people as things”
Granny Weatherwax, in
Carpe Jugulum, by
Terry Pratchett.
“Love your neighbour as yourself”
Leviticus 19

The Golden Rule
Negative form: “What is hateful to you, do not do
to others”
Positive form: “Do as you would be done by”
Long-winded: think of all other people as beings
like yourself; treat them the way you would want
to be treated in their circumstances.
Found in all the great ethical systems.
Granny Weatherwax was right!

The Seven Laws of Noah
?
Prohibition of idolatry
?
Prohibition of murder
?
Prohibition of theft
?
Prohibition of sexual immorality
?
Prohibition of blasphemy
?
Prohibition of meat taken from a living animal
?
Requirement to establish courts of law
?
What will keep a society going?

Why does a profession need a code
?
In New Zealand at the present time, do I really
need to say more than “leaky homes”?
?
If more, how about “unfortunate experiment”?
?
We got the Bill of Rights Act 1990 because we
could not trust Parliament’s “Unbridled Power”;
because we have that act – Parliament has a
rule that there must be a BoR report on a
proposed Act before it’s passed – we can trust
Parliament not to be blatantly evil (written before John
Key’s GCSB Act)

Why does a profession need a code
?
We want our profession to continue
?
We want our profession to be respected
?
We want to get paid
?
?
So we have to act, and we have to be known by
the public to act, in ways that are consistent
with these desires.

ACM Eight Principles (1)
?
Act in accord with the public interest
?
Be good, be respectable!
?
Serve the interests of clients/employers
?
Get paid!
?
What we produce should be good quality
?
Get paid again!
?
We  should  act  ethically  no  matter  what  our
bosses or clients say, especially when it comes
to  telling  the  truth  about  matters  within  our
technical competence

ACM Eight Principles (2)
?
Manage ethically
?
Make the profession better respected and more
worthy of respect
?
We want to be admired and we don’t want to be
afraid of being found out
?
Be good to our colleagues
?
Keep on learning how to do our job better (both
more proficiently and more ethically)

Presuppositions
?
There is such a thing as the public interest
(“health, welfare, and safety of the public”)
?
There is such a thing as acting ethically that the
ACM did not have to define (closer to the
Noahide laws than anything Nietzsche would
have approved of)
?
That includes practices of truthfulness and
forming and keeping contracts (also Lev 19)
?
The Code is not meant to be complete

IITP Code of Professional Conduct                                      1
The IITP Code of
Professional Conduct
The mandatory code outlining ethical and professional
requirements for IT Professionals in New Zealand.
June 2012
2

About IITP
T he Institute of IT Professionals (IITP), formerly known as
the NZ Computer Society, is the professional body of the
IT sector in New Zealand.
IITP  has a proud history spanning over 50 years and has
been a part of the computing and IT sector in New Zea-land since formation in 1960.
IITP Vision
IITP is the authoritative voice of the IT profession that
leads professional development and good practice in IT.
This document is made available under the following license:
Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 New Zealand
You are free to share (copy, distribute and transmit the work) under the following conditions:
4Attribution:    You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or
licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your
use of the work).

4No Derivative Works:  You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.
Waiver: Note that any of these conditioned may be waived if you get permission from IITP.
Full details at  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/nz/
IITP Code of Professional Conduct                                      3
The IITP Code of Professional Conduct
This IITP Code of Professional Conduct document is split into three sections:
Section 1 – Code of Professional Conduct                    Page 4
This is the IITP Code of Professional Conduct in its entirety. The Code is made up of 8 Tenets, each re -lated to the others but also covering an important area related to ethics and conduct.
Section 2 – Guidelines and Interpretation                    Page 6
This material does not form a part of the Code, but rather is used to assist in the interpretation and
implementation of the Code of Professional Conduct.
Section 3 – Breaches and Disciplinary Process            Page 14
This section is taken from Schedule Four of the IITP Bylaws, and outlines the procedures by which     al-leged breaches of the Code will be dealt with, including the provision for a hearing of the
Professional Conduct Board.
This IITP Code of Professional Conduct was formally adopted by resolution of a Special General    Meet-ing held for that purpose in Wellington, New Zealand, on Friday 28th May 2010.
The Code replaced the previous IITP Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct.
4
Section 1:
The IITP Code of
Professional Conduct
4
IITP Code of Professional Conduct                                      5
IITP Code of Professional Conduct
1.   Non-Discriminatory – Members shall treat people with dignity, good faith and equity;
without discrimination; and have consideration for the values and cultural sensitivities
of all groups within the community affected by their work;
2.   Zeal  – Members shall act in the execution of their profession with integrity, dignity and
honour to merit the trust of the community and the profession, and apply honesty,
skill, judgement and initiative to contribute positively to the well-being of society;
3.   Community   – Members’ responsibility for the welfare and rights of the community
shall come before their responsibility to their profession, sectional or private interests
or to other members;
4.   Skills  – Members shall apply their skills and knowledge in the interests of their clients
or employers for whom they will act without compromising any other of these Tenets;
5.   Continuous Development   – Members shall develop their knowledge, skills and
expertise continuously through their careers, contribute to the collective wisdom of
the profession, and actively encourage their associates to do likewise;
6.   Outcomes and Consequences  – Members shall take reasonable steps to inform
themselves, their clients or employers of the economic, social, environmental or legal
consequences which may arise from their actions;
7.   Potential or Real Conflicts of Interest   – Members shall inform their clients or
employers of any interest which may be, or may be perceived as being, in conflict with
the interests of their clients or employers, or which may affect the quality of service or
impartial judgement;
8.   Competence  – Members shall follow recognised professional practice, and provide
services and advice carefully and diligently only within their areas of competence.

These Tenets comprise the essence of the Code of Professional Conduct. Breaches shall be dealt with as
provided in Schedule Four of the IITP Bylaws.
They should be read and applied in conjunction with Supplements to the Code of Professional Conduct.
The Supplements will be maintained and updated by the Institute so as to be timely and relevant.  Members
of the Institute have a duty to be cognisant of the Supplements’ content especially those which are applicable
to the areas of professional expertise and activity in which they are involved.
6
Section 2:
Supplement to the Code:
Guidance and Interpretation
6
IITP Code of Professional Conduct                                      7
Supplement to the IITP Code of Professional Conduct:
Guidance and Interpretation
This supplement does not form a part of the Code, however should be read in conjunction
with the code to provide context and interpretation.
This Supplement includes the following sections:
1: Context of the Tenets of the Code   8
2: General Matters    8
3: The Community    9
4: Qualifications and Competence   10
5: Clients and Employers  11
6: Ethical Dilemmas   12
7: Maintenance of the Code  13
8
1: Context of the Tenets of the Code
1.1  The Code of Professional Conduct is issued under the provisions of clause 9 of the Constitution of
the Institute of IT Professionals NZ Incorporated and is binding on all members in all grades of the
Institute, including the Institute itself.
1.2  This Code of Professional Conduct (CoPC) is to be read and interpreted in conjunction with the
Institute’s Constitution, Bylaws and this Guidance and Interpretation.
1.3  The respect which society accords the technology professions is earned and maintained by its
members demonstrating a strong and consistent commitment to ethical values. These commitments
are additional to the obligations, which every member of society is required to observe, such as
obeying the law of the legislative authority within which they are working as well as those of their
own country as applicable, and reflect the additional responsibility expected of all professionals.
1.4  Therefore the Institute must maintain an appropriate Code of Professional Conduct, to make it
available for the information of the public and to enforce it impartially. This Code must be responsive
to the changing expectations of both the public and the profession and the global standards to which
the Institute of IT Professionals subscribes.
1.5     This code is based upon the principles of:
•     Interests of the community
•     Respect for the individual
•     Interests of the client
•     Professional integrity
and supported by the values of:
•     Competence
•     Truth
•     Social justice and
•     Ethical behaviour
1.6  Eight ethical Tenets form the basis of the Code to guide members in achieving the high ideals of
professional life. To assist in the interpretation of the Code, guidelines are set out below to support
these Tenets.
2: General Matters
2.1  The purpose of this supplement is to assist members in applying the Tenets of the Code of Professional
Conduct which have been written in broad terms.  Whilst not specifically part of the Code of
Professional Conduct, the supplement should be read in conjunction with the Code and members
will be expected to have considered the content of the Code, this and any other supplements in any
matter of professional conduct.
2.2  The supplements are not prescriptive but form the basis, in conjunction with the Constitution and
Bylaws, of the Institute’s concept of Professional Conduct and Practice.
IITP Code of Professional Conduct                                      9
3: The Community
3.1  “Community”, in the context of the Code, refers to all groups in society including members’ own
workplaces. The first three Tenets of the Code refer to the Community and may be considered to
include:
•     Acting and working in a way such that the health, safety and well-being of employees and
colleagues are not endangered;
•     Ensuring that work undertaken meets community expectations by adopting the norms of
recognised professional practice; or communicating any attendant risks or limitations, and
their effect, in any work undertaken which does not accord with convention;
•     Being vigilant in ‘duty of care’ toward members of the community;
•     Communicating the results of work undertaken in a clear and unambiguous way;
•     Raising real or perceived conflicts of interest, or issues which may not be in the community
interest, at an early stage of involvement;
•     Commitment to the principles of sustainable development of the planet’s resources and
seeking to minimise adverse environmental impacts of their work or applications of technology
for both present and future generations;
•     Not being involved in any activity which is known to be fraudulent, dishonest or not in the
interests of the community (as described); and
•     Not accepting reward or compensation from any more than one party, without the clear
understanding and acceptance of all parties.
3.2  In summary, these Tenets of the Code require members to be mindful of more than their technical
and professional responsibilities and their immediate employer or client.
3.3  Many of the requirements demand no more than sound management practices such as Occupational
Health and Safety Plans and care of colleagues and staff. The Code goes further in its obligation for
members to be aware of the consequences of all of their actions in the practice of their professions.
The essence of “professionalism” is in remaining aware of these obligations and in making sound and
informed decisions when faced with any conflict of responsibilities which may, and likely will, arise.
10
4: Qualifications and Competence
4.1  Qualifications denote the foundation of knowledge that a member has achieved through formal
education, experience, post graduate learning or a combination from all of these sources.
4.2  Competence is demonstrated by application of knowledge and skills to provide service, advice or
opinion to clients or employers.
4.3  The Tenets of the Code which relate to these themes may be considered to include an expectation of
members to:
•     not misrepresent the qualifications and competences of themselves or those in their employ
or under their supervision;
•     not undertake any assignment which is outside their competence; and if requested to do so,
to bring to their client’s or employer’s attention to the need to access further expertise;
•     seek expert assistance on encountering any professional issue or problem outside the range
of experience or competence;
•     not expect their employees to undertake work for which the employees have little or no
demonstrated competence, other than in a supervised capacity; and
•     keep themselves competent and informed by continuous professional development.
4.4  By carefully limiting the professional work undertaken within the limits of their qualifications and
competence, members protect the interests of the community, clients, employers and themselves.
4.5  A mistake or error of judgement that a member might make within the limits of competence and
qualification, even though it may be judged as negligence, will not be considered as unethical
behaviour.
IITP Code of Professional Conduct                                      11
5: Clients and Employers
5.1  Members have a duty to provide loyal and competent service to their clients and employers. “Loyalty”
implies looking out for their interests, giving fearless advice, providing strict confidentiality.
5.2  A client is the recipient of professional service, advice or opinion. Members are encouraged to be
always mindful of the question “who is the client?” In some circumstances it may also be the employer.
An employee of a private company has dual duties to employer and client. An academic employed by
a University has students as clients.
5.3  When a member is serving both an employer and a client, there is potential for competing and
conflicting interests.
5.4       The Tenets of the Code which relate to these themes include an expectation of members to:
•     not disclose or use any confidential information gained in the course of their employment
without permission, unless disclosure is a legal requirement or withholding the information
would be to the detriment of the community;
•     be truthful, factual and free from exaggeration in advertising or promoting their services to
potential clients, either by advertisement or direct approach;
•     keep clients and employers informed of any known or potential conflict of interest;
•     not accept payment for particular service or information from more than one source without
disclosure to all parties, unless it is apparent that the service or information is intended for
multiple use;
•     not undertake assignments under conditions which may compromise their ability to satisfy
client or employer needs in a professional manner;
•     advise clients and employers of the level of risk, or any possible adverse consequences, of
any instruction given which is outside the norms of conventional practice;
•     not attempt to supplant others who are already engaged by a client; nor to damage in any
way the reputation of competitors by way of comparison or denigration;
•     when acting as an expert witness to a court or tribunal, be mindful of their primary obligation
as an expert witness to the court or the hearing, and not to the engaging party.
12
6: Ethical Dilemmas
6.1  An ethical dilemma occurs when one Tenet of the Code cannot be honoured without apparent breach
of another.  It is recommended that any member finding themselves in such a situation should consult
with the affected parties and attempt an ethical resolution or, failing that, refer the matter to the PCB
for advice.
6.2  In any professional career, ethical challenges or dilemmas will arise. Teachers may be caught between
the demands of their employers and the needs of their students; employees may be caught between
the performance targets of their employers and the expectations of their clients; consultants may be
caught between the expectations of their clients and the interests of the community; public service
professionals may be caught between the directives of superiors and the well being of staff.
6.3  Resolution of ethical dilemmas is ultimately a matter of personal responsibility, taking into account
the principles which lie behind the Tenets of the Code.  Members of the Institute are encouraged to
share their ethical dilemmas with a trusted colleague, or refer such matters to the Institute’s National
Council or CEO if they wish.  Either of those may further refer the matter to the PCB for consideration
6.4  Members seeking guidance in higher ethical issues are recommended to consider documents such as
the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, the Treaty of Waitangi and the New Zealand Bill of
Rights.  It is recognised that members may also feel subject to religious obligations which may impose
ethical and moral dilemmas.  In such cases, members are advised to consult with their religious guides
and may refer such matters to the Institute’s National Council or CEO if they wish.  Either of those may
further refer the matter to the Professional Conduct Board for consideration.
6.5  Another aspect of ethical dilemma is the occurrence of a conflict of interest.  A conflict of interest
may be real, potential or perceived.  It arises when relationships exist among such entities as clients,
employers, employees, vendors, colleagues or any combination that can, may or actually influence
another entity to a possibly detrimental extent.  These extents include diminished commitment,
pecuniary or other gain, undue influence
6.6  The issue can also be difficult because a perceived conflict of interest may be as consequential as a
real occurrence.  This happens when those who perceive a conflict act in ways that are influenced by
the perception.  As such, perceived conflicts of interest may have to be managed or otherwise dealt
with as if real.  The Code of Practice details some strategies relevant to conflict of interest resolution
or management.
IITP Code of Professional Conduct                                      13
7: Maintenance of the Code
7.1       The role of the Institute of IT Professionals NZ is:
•     to provide rigorous and fair processes for dealing with complaints and charges made against
members; and
•     to provide counsel and support to members confronting ethical dilemmas or any other
difficulties in relation to their own or others’ ethical behaviour.
7.2  The Institute has a Professional Conduct Board which “is responsible for the implementation and
oversight of professional conduct standards as they apply to all membership classes and to maintain
alignment of such standards with kindred bodies and international guidelines.”
1

7.3  Where appropriate, the Professional Conduct Board will, as circumstances warrant, propose additions,
changes or deletions within both this supplement and Supplement 2, the Code of Practice.  Members
are encouraged to submit material for Board consideration where they feel that guidance and
interpretation and/or the Code of Practice might be improved.
7.4  The  Code of Practice endeavours to provide guidance and examples within specific areas of Information
Technology practice.  As such, it is likely to change far more frequently than the other documents
mentioned.  Members are encouraged to refer to the Code regularly (either on the Institute’s web site
or in