COMPUTER PRIVACY VS. FIRST AND FOURTH AMENDMENT RIGHTS (By Michael S. Borella) <Mike Borella received a bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Technical Communication from Clarkson University (1991). He is currently a graduate student and teaching assistant in Computer Science at U. Cal. at Davis. This paper is the result of an independent study sponsored by Susan Ross, an assistant professor in Technical Communication at Clarkson. e-mail borella@toadflax.eecs.ucdavis or sross@clutx.clarkson.edu> I: What is Cyberspace? "Cyberspace. A consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in every nation... A graphical representation of data abstracted from the banks of every computer in the human system. Unthinkable complexity. Lines of light ranged in the nonspace of the mind, clusters and constellations of data. Like city lights, receding..." - William Gibson, Neuromancer Even after reading William Gibson's cyberpunk novels, one's conceptualization of cyberspace, the electronic world of computers and computer networks, can be insubstantial. Gibson describes cyberspace as a world of simulated stimulation that a computer feeds to a "jockey" (computer operator) via a "cyberspace deck" (human-computer interface). Explorers in Gibson's cyberspace often have difficulty telling what is real and what is not. Frequently, in our world, the novice computer user has similar problems understanding how to use the potential wealth of information at their finger tips. In Gibson's uncharted future, people access computers by merging their thoughts with a database. Today we can "enter" cyberspace through keyboard and modem. But what actually is cyberspace? Is it real? What does it look like? What are some of the personal and legal issues emerging from this vastly uncharted new frontier? This paper will answer those questions and more as we explore cyberspace, meet its frequenters, and discuss its increasing role in the life of every human being, not just those who actually use a computer. Before we embark on our journey through the legal battles and rights issues regarding cyberspace, we need a working knowledge of what it is and how computer operators use it. Envision a roadmap. Cities dot the otherwise sparse landscape and roads branch out in all directions, connecting every city. This network leaves no city unserviced. Although not every city is connected to every other, it is possible to reach any one city from any other. Like every other mass transit system, certain areas are more travelled than others. Some cities are larger than others and some stretches of road are more prone to traffic. The size and complexity of this roadmap defies the imagination - it encircles the world. But the cities are not actually cities. They are computers or groups of computers. The roads are telephone lines or fiber-optic cable. The system surrounds the globe in an electronic web of data. The travellers on these 'virtual' roads are packets of information which are sent from one city to another, perhaps via many. The roadmap is a worldwide computer "network." Each city is a depot or terminal for the packets, and is usually referred to as a "node." In reality they are mainframes owned by universities, companies, or groups of computer users. There are several worldwide computer networks currently in existence. Every individual who has an account on any mainframe in the world has their own unique electronic address. It is not unlike a mailbox, except that it can only receive mail of the electronic kind. Electronic addresses are similar to postal addresses in that they contain: --a name, or user identification which corresponds to the individual computer user who owns the particular address. --a local machine name, which is the specific mainframe that the userid is on. Local names are only used in the node consists of more than one mainframe. This is not unlike a street address. --a node name, which corresponds to the physical location of the node that the userid belongs to. This is not unlike a city address and/or zip code. This is all a network needs to know before it can send information from one mailbox to another. Just like postal mail, if the user doesn't address mail correctly, the network will return it. In the case of e-mail (electronic mail) a simple misspelling will cause the network to return the mail, or send it to an improper destination. Each of the several worldwide networks has its own unique but similar method for addressing e-mail. Corresponding via electronic mail has been available to some academicians for over 20 years, but today it is possible for anybody with a computer and a modem to have their own mailbox. For the sake of convenience, many useful physical objects have been abstracted into cyberspace. Computerized filing systems (databases), bulletin boards, and electronically published digests and magazines proliferate in the virtual world of networks. Many of these electronic items are being treated differently than their "real" counterparts. Often, due to the convenience of having millions of pieces of data available in seconds, individual privacy rights are violated. This is leading to debate and litigation concerning the use of various aspects of cyberspace. The next sections cover the situations, people, and legislation of this untamed and largely undefined frontier. II: Databases A database is a collection facts, figures, numbers, and words that are sorted in a particular order and/or indexed. They are stored on a computer so that retrieval is quick and simple. Often, databases are used by the government, corporations, and private businesses to keep track of the names, address, phone numbers, and other relevant data about their clients, subscribers, members, etc. For example, most public libraries have databases containing information of every person who has a card at that library. Besides the name, address, and phone number of the card holder, the library's database would also contain information regarding what books the holder is currently borrowing, whether they are overdue or not, and when each person's library card expires. Similarly, banks have databases containing information regarding the persons they transact with. Again, name, address and phone number is essential, but the bank would also be interested in social security number, credit rating, assets, mortgage information, and so on. By organizing this data on a computer, the bank increases its efficiency. It is able to serve more customers in less time, and provide monetary transactions within seconds. Anyone who has used a bank card at an automated teller can attest to this. But all databases are not used for such beneficial purposes. As we will see in the next section, even the information stored in "benign" databases can be used to violate privacy rights. In 1967, J. Edgar Hoover, then head of the FBI, created the National Crime Information Center (NCIC). This organization's purpose is to use a computerized database containing the criminal record of every United States citizen to increase the efficiency of all levels of law enforcement by facilitating quick exchange of information. The NCIC's federal databanks interface with over 64,000 state and local governments' computer networks, and even with some criminal databases of foreign countries. This widespread and far-reaching power is used by everyone from top FBI investigators to county and municipal patrol officers. For example, if a police officer pulls over a speeder in New York, they can check, within a matter of seconds, if that person is wanted in any other state, and if that person has a criminal record. The NCIC contains records on every person arrested in the United States, which amounts to approximately 40 million people, a number equivalent to one-third of the work force (Gordon and Churchill, p. 497). It goes without saying that the holders of this information have incredible power. However, at first glance, the existence of the NCIC's databases seem completely beneficial; in fact they do much to protect the privacy of the average American. Authorities can find out if an individual is wanted for a crime and detain that person if necessary, all with the push of a few buttons. Effective law enforcement does make the country a safer place for its citizens. But, as we will see, the current state of and uses for the NCIC do infringe upon individual privacy. There are many cases in which the NCIC databases have been found to hold inaccurate and incomplete information. Keep in mind that they only contain arrest records, not conviction records. If an individual has been acquitted of a charge, it does not necessarily get entered into the computers. An example of this was the legal battle fought by Los Angeles native Terry Dean Rogan. After Rogan lost his wallet, a man using his identification was linked to four crimes, including two murders. Rogan was mistakenly arrested, and an NCIC file was made about him. The file was inaccurate - it did not contain a description of him. As a result, he was arrested four times for crimes he didn't commit. Rogan successfully sued to city if Los Angeles in 1987 for violating his Fourth Amendment rights (Science Court Opinions, p. 99). But some victims of NCIC errors don't get off so easily. In 1979, Michael Ducross of Huntington Beach California made a minor traffic violation on his way to the supermarket one day. The police...
kopia23