Papers

=**Research Paper Ideas**=

There are several problem areas: availability of material not appropriate for children, contact with people who seek to abuse children, and privacy risks from game sites that ask children for extensive personal and family information (for marketing purposes). How serious are these problems? What is being done about them? Evaluate various solutions. Do benefits for children on the Net outweigh risks? Can we arrange to have the benefits without the risks?
 * Children on the Internet**

All our discussion of privacy concerns privacy for people. There have been incidents in which sensitive information that organizations and businesses must provide to government agencies has been made public, intentionally, accidentally, or by leaks. Release of information about fund-raising, sales plans, pricing, members, or customers might aid competitors. Release of information about manufacture of, storage of, and security for certain chemicals could aid terrorists. Report on some cases and discuss reasonable extensions of principles about privacy for organizations and businesses. media type="custom" key="4423611"
 * Privacy for organizations and businesses**

Some aspect not covered in the text, or study some issue in more detail. Some possibilities: filtering Internet terminals in libraries, control of the Net in other countries. (For historical background on libraries: Louise S. Robbins, Censorship and the American Library: The American Library Association's Response to Threats to Intellectual Freedom, 1939-1969, Greenwood Press, 1996.)
 * Censorship of the Internet**

Issues include benefits to crime fighting, invasion of privacy, problems caused for innocent people because of errors in databases. Describe cases where the computer system has been very helpful in catching a criminal, and describe cases where it has caused serious problems. An activity for this project could include a ride-along in a police car. (A few students did this in the past and found it very instructive.) Another possible activity is to interview someone who runs or supervises the use of local law enforcement computer systems. What databases do they access? How do they prevent unauthorized access? Have errors in NCIC been reduced?
 * Computers in law enforcement**

What policies are employers using? Perhaps study a few large businesses in your area. A useful part of a project on e-mail privacy could be collecting and evaluating (or writing) sample policies for different kinds of employers (e.g., for your university, covering students, faculty, and staff, and for a software company in a highly competitive business).
 * Monitoring of employees' Web use and e-mail**

Report on personal data privacy regulations, Web site privacy policies, and law enforcement access to personal data in one or more countries, e.g. the European Union.
 * Personal data privacy regulations in other countries**

What is currently happening? Describe new technical solutions and the current state of regulation. Consider the relevance of freedom of speech. Discuss the roles of technical and legislative solutions.
 * Spam**

The terrorist attacks on the U.S. in 2001 led to laws reducing restrictions on government surveillance of the Internet. Before that, the Clinton administration proposed massive monitoring of major computer networks by the government to protect their security. Is this a good idea? What are the pro and con arguments?
 * Government surveillance of the Internet**

What's happening now? Recent abuses and improvements. Describe and evaluate Web site policies and technical and policy privacy protections provided by the market, and current proposals for government regulations.
 * Privacy on the Web**

What is the impact on children? There haven't been many serious studies
 * Violence in video/computer games**