Social Issues and Professional Practice
Department of Computer Science,
University of Cape Town
1.The Revised Notes
We have been revising the notes for the Social Issues and Professional Practice (formerly called Cyberlaw & Ethics) module. The new title reflects a new curriculum from the ACM (for more on this please Section 1.2 in the new notes). Unfortunately the revision is an extensive process and we have not completed the process. The most important and comprehensive changes have been made but two chapters still need to be updated.
The file
1.Introduction
2.Social Context
3.Analytical Tools
4.Professional Ethics
The remaining chapters are still from the old notes and cover the topics Intellectual Property and Privacy and Civil Liberties from the new curriculum. Please see the files “EthicsCh5Privacy.pdf” and “EthicsCh7PropertyRights.pdf”. These contain the chapters “Chapter 5. Privacy” and “Chapter 7.
Property Rights and Software” (sic).
2.Comments on the missing material in the older notes
The older notes lack references to the South African situation and are also rather out of date. The following is an essential summary of updates.
2.1Update: Chapter 5. Privacy
South African Bill of Rights: 14. Privacy: Everyone has the right to privacy, which includes the right not to have:
•their person or home searched;
•their property searched;
•their possessions seized; or
•the privacy of their communications infringed.
The Interception Act: The Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of
•To be able to monitor communication:
•Must have information or evidence that electronic communications are being used in the commission of a crime.
•Request an "interception direction“ from courts
•Judge will then decide to grant or refuse this directive.
•Once the interception direction is obtained
•Served on ISP who is required by law to monitor communication
•Forward all information to the law enforcement agency.
•The person under surveillance needs not be informed.
The Protection of Personal Information Act (PoPI) sets conditions for how you can process information. It has been signed by the President and is law and is run by the “Information Regulator”. In some sense this is a counterbalance to the Interception Act. This act seeks to provide South African with legal means to protect their personal information. As we have seen it is also covered through the Constitution and a number of sections of other Acts.
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•The act also deals with the rapid transfer of personal information with other countries via the Internet and Call centres. Similar to UK and EU legislation
•South Africa: General Information Protection Principles, applies to those who process personal information (generally, anyone with customers, partners or staff who store their personal information in some way)
•Collect only information needed for a specific purpose;
•Apply reasonable security measures to protect information;
•Ensure such security measures are relevant and
•Only hold as much information as needed;
•Only hold information for as long as it is needed; and
•Allow the subject of the information to view it upon request.
•If information is transferred across borders must ensure compliance with the restrictions in terms of the PoPI Act (similar to EU)
•If information is used for direct marketing the data subject has to give his or her consent or be a customer
Privacy and Ubuntu: Ubuntu is a broader community based mindset, whereas privacy arises in a tradition with a strong emphasis on the rights of the individual in order to protect and empower them.
•Ubuntu has less of a concept of privacy — leaves a vacuum in this regard.
•Core of privacy is to protect dignity: in harmony with ubuntu
•The South African Constitution (1996) enshrines the right to privacy as a constitutional right
•See “Western privacy and/or Ubuntu? Some critical comments on the influences in the forthcoming data privacy bill in South Africa” by Olinger, Britz and Olivier.
2.2Update: Chapter 7 Property Rights and Software
We could argue that an intellectual property (IP) right is a type of “natural right” that should be granted to individuals for the products that result from their labour. A more utilitarian approach is that IP is designed to promote progress, this is the view that is generally and historically favoured.
Thus there is a fair exchange for mutual benefit:
•Creator gets limited exclusive rights
•Society gets disclosure of inventions and creative works,
Thus an incentive is created for inventors and authors to create and disclose their work. The types of intellectual property and their length of protection granted are:
Design Does not cover how the article functions (unlike patent) Protects the physical appearance of a manufactured object
•Aesthetic Design — 15 years;
•Functional Design — 10 years.
Copyright Computer Programs and Data — 50 years in South Africa
•In South Africa copyright comes into being automatically and no registration is required.
•In South Africa Computer programs are eligible for copyright, if they are original. So you would need permission for reproducing the computer program in any manner or form, or for making an adaptation of the computer program; etc
•In general copyright infringement occurs where the copyrighted material of others is used for personal gain as opposed to private or personal use. Backup is allowed for personal use. Fair dealing is allowed for review, illustration in teaching, demonstration of equipment, . . .
•Copyright of programs lasts for 50 years after first made available to public — this is a very long time for software! The author of a computer program is the person who exercises control
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over the making of the program. Computer program’s “author” is the person who exercised control over the making of the computer program.
Trade Secrets — not really property — the law protects industrial secrets Trademarks and Domains — Can last forever!
•Trademarks distinguishes one person’s goods or services from those of another. The rights exist either via common law or by registration. Registered Trademarks are perpetually renewable in periods of 10 years [84, p. 243].
•Domain Names: Domain Name System (DNS) is used instead of IP numbers. Generic Top Level Domain (gTLD) are ones such as .com, .net and .org + .aero; .biz; .coop; .info;
.museum; .name; and .pro. (since 2000). This is all managed by ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) which is a
The country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) .za administered by www.zadna.org.za. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) is a department of ICANN, and coordinate the Internet Protocol (IP) addressing systems.
•Cybersquatting (or domain squatting), is when someone registers an Internet domain name in bad faith intending to profit from the good name of trademarks, famous people or businesses. The cybersquatter can then either sells the domain at an inflated price or use it to attract business.
Disputes are resolved by ICANN — Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), or .ZA Dispute Resolution Regulations (ZADRR). See https://domaindisputes.co.za/ .
Patents 20 years in South Africa, does not apply to software (yet)