Beneficial Consequences of Open-

Source Software
• Gives everyone opportunity to improve program
• New versions of programs appear more
frequently
• Eliminates tension between obeying law and
helping others
• Programs belong to entire community
• Shifts focus from manufacturing to service

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Examples of Open-Source Software

• BIND
• Apache
• Sendmail
• Android operating system for smartphones
• Firefox and Chrome
• OpenOffice.org
• Perl, Python, Ruby, TCL/TK, PHP, Zope
• GNU compilers for C, C++, Objective-C, Fortran, Java,
and Ada

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Screenshot from OpenOffice.org, a registered trademark of Apache Software Foundation.
Copyright © 2012 by Apache Software Foundation. Reprinted with permission.
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GNU Project and Linux

• GNU Project
– Begun by Richard Stallman in 1984
– Goal: Develop open-source, Unix-like operating
system
– Most components developed in late 1980s
• Linux
– Linus Torvalds wrote Unix-like kernel in 1991
– Combined with GNU components to make an O.S.
– Commonly called Linux
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Impact of Open-Source Software

• Linux an alternative to proprietary versions

of Unix
• Linux operating system on 95% of the
world’s 500 fastest supercomputers

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Crititique of the Open-Source
Software Movement
• Without critical mass of developers, quality can
be poor
• Without an “owner,” incompatible versions may
arise
• Relatively weak graphical user interface
• Poor mechanism for stimulating innovation (no
companies will spend billions on new programs)

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4.9 Legitimacy of Intellectual
Property Protection for Software

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Do We Have the Right System in Place?

• Software licenses typically prevent you

from making copies of software to sell or
give away
• Software licenses are legal agreements
• Not discussing morality of breaking the law
• Discussing whether society should give
intellectual property protection to software
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Rights-based Analysis

• “Just deserts” argument

– Programming is hard work that only a few can do
– Programmers should be rewarded for their labor
– They ought to be able to own their programs
• Criticism of “just deserts” argument
– Why does labor imply ownership?
– Can imagine a just society in which all labor went
to common good
– Intellectual property not like physical property

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A Consequentialist Argument Why
Software Copying Is Bad

Beth Anderson

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Utilitarian Analysis
• Argument against copying
– Copying software reduces software purchases…
– Leading to less income for software makers…
– Leading to lower production of new software…
– Leading to fewer benefits to society
• Each of these claims can be debated
– Not all who get free copies can afford to buy software
– Open-source movement demonstrates many people
are willing to donate their software-writing skills
– Hardware industry wants to stimulate software industry
– Difficult to quantify how much society would be harmed
if certain software packages not released 1-11
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Conclusion

• Natural rights argument weak

• Utilitarian argument not strong, either
• Nevertheless, society has granted
copyright protection to owners of computer
programs
• Breaking the law is wrong unless there is a
strong overriding moral obligation or
consequence
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4.10 Creative Commons

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Streamlining Creative Re-use
• Under current copyright law, eligible works
are copyrighted the moment they are created
• No copyright notice does not mean it’s okay
to copy
• Must contact people before using work
• That slows down creative re-use
• Free Creative Commons license indicates
– Which kinds of copying are okay
– Which rights are being retained
• Flickr and Magnatune two well-known sites
using Creative Commons licenses
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Screenshot from Creative Commons. Copyright © 2011 by Creative Commons. Reprinted with permission. 1-15
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Chapter 5:
Information
Privacy

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Chapter Overview

• Introduction
• Perspectives on privacy
• Information disclosures
• Data mining
• Examples of consumer backlash

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5.1 Introduction

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Information Technology Erodes
Privacy
• Collection, exchange, combination, and
distribution of information easier than ever,
lessens privacy
• Scott McNealy: “You have zero privacy
anyway. Get over it.”
• We will consider how we leave an
“electronic trail” of information behind us
and what others can do with this info
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NON SEQUITUR © 2005 Wiley Ink, Inc. Dist. By UNIVERSAL UCLICK.
Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.
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5.2 Perspectives on Privacy

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Defining Privacy
• Privacy related to notion of access
• Access
– Physical proximity to a person
– Knowledge about a person
• Privacy is a “zone of inaccessibility”
• Privacy violations are an affront to human dignity
• Too much individual privacy can harm society
• Where to draw the line?

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