Privacy in Argentina

Topic area	Privacy
Target audience	Junior Level Computer Science, Information Systems students
Activity type	Presentation followed by discussion
Time required	50 minutes
Attachments	presentation slides, preclass activity
Additional materials	Enclosed is a copy of several relevant excerpts from the constitution of Argentina.
Background needed to complete the assignment	The student is expected to have general knowledge of American law and a respect for other cultures.
References	The Constitution of Argentina Annual Review of Privacy and Human Rights in Argentina See the pre-class assignment below
Last modified	4/30/2000

Name of interviewee:

Fernando Das Neves

Abstract:

This lesson plan is designed to give the students an overall understanding of the ethical topics surrounding privacy from the standpoint of a person from Argentina. It will start with a pre-class reading which will bring them up to speed as to the current events surrounding the privacy issues. By the time they get to class the students will have the knowledge required to understand the laws and political issues associated with encryption. The instructor will deliver this information to them in the form of a presentation. This will be approximately a 20-minute presentation. By this point the students should have formed their opinion of the issues presented and will be able to voice them during a moderated in class debate. This debate will last the remainder of the class period.

Goals for the activity:

Give Students Understanding of Privacy Laws in America and Argentina.
Engage the students in thought about Privacy Laws in America and Argentina.
Engage the students in a debate about government access to encryption codes.
Encourage students to take into account the larger impact of their work.

Knowledge / skills / attitudes to be developed (behavioral objectives):

This lesson should provide the students with the necessary information in order to understand the ethical dilemmas in the field of privacy and the experiences of the people of Argentina. This information will be presented in such a format as to encourage the students to form their own opinions of the issues. In this the students will be encouraged to share their views with one another in order to strengthen or reformulate their beliefs.

The skills acquired during this exercise will be concentrated in ethical reasoning and decision-making. No technical skills will be developed. By the end the students will have had the opportunity to strengthen their ethical reasoning and debate skills. These skills will be developed through interaction.

The attitudes to be developed will be those that the students will form on their own or in collaboration with other students. The instructor will force no attitudes upon any student. The students will be only influenced by the attitudes of their peers during the debate. Hopefully, each student will form an attitude towards the subject that enhances his or her set of moral beliefs.

Procedure:

(before class) Students will complete the pre-class reading and worksheet.
(20 minutes.) Discussion on privacy and privacy laws to ensure clarity.
(25 minutes) DEBATE: what is the proper role of the government in protecting its citizens' privacy?
(5 minutes) Conclusion and wrap-up. Report most significant points/arguments made in the debate.
(after class) Students will complete the 'Assessing Outcomes' questions.

Assessing outcomes

: The following questions are designed to help you think about the considerations of loss of privacy. After reading the questions below, consider how you may change your attitude toward protection of your data. Also, consider the potential these issues have for your career as a computer scientist.

In the future, if you accidentally stumble upon a program that is capable of decrypting any encryption scheme, what would you do with it? Sell it to the highest bidder? Use it for your own gains? Destroy it?
Do you think that current encryption schemes are adequate or further work in data security should be explored?
Do you believe that a number associated with you should be the key to all information about you?
Explain the experience of Argentina with tyranny and how that has effected their views of privacy.

Additional remarks:

Below are a few variants the teacher may want to employ in different class settings. These variations still deal with the topic of Privacy, but offer a different approach.

Instead of a debate, have the class split in to two groups. The first group is given sensitive information that they are to send to an imaginary person via email. The second group is to acquire the sensitive information. The first group is to develop ways to ensure the person will receive the information without the second group discovering the information.
The second group is to develop ways they can retrieve the information. Encryption or any method of data security is not allowed. The point of the exercise is to develop others means.
Instead of a debate, have the class split into multiple groups. Present the scenario of a futuristic Earth where all people must have brain implants that function like social security numbers. There is a threat of the implants being able to read deeper thoughts and registering more intimate secrets locked in the mind, maybe some the person may not be aware of.
Have the groups come up with privacy laws dealing with this new threat to personal privacy.

Author contact information:

David Torbert dtorbert@vt.edu
Travis Hockersmith thockers@vt.edu
Thomas Foughner tfoughne@vt.edu
Marty Einstein meinstei@vt.edu
Steve Matyas smatyas@vt.edu
Michael Jaworski mjaworsk@vt.edu

Pre-class Activity

The pre-class activity is designed to allow students to gain an overview of privacy issues. A preclass reading and worksheet are attached.

In-class Presentation (20 minutes)

What is Privacy?

Privacy is the expectation that confidential information will not be disclosed to third parties.

In 1834 in Wheaton v. Peters, the Supreme Court established that a right exists 'to be let alone'.

Argentina - Recent History

Argentina's privacy laws are a reflection of societal attitudes.
In the 1970s, there was a military government.
It was bad.
They killed 30,000 people
The government kept information about people's political membership and friends
This caused people to become very against the government tracking people's political membership.
People taken by secret police called ìdisappeared people'.

Privacy issues in Argentina

DNI - Identity National Document
Assigned at birth, similar to SSN, but used for everything.
DNI is key to everything about you.
Average people are not very conscious about it.
Constitution amended in 1994.
Anyone has the right to demand that government or company reveal what information it has about you
If information is false or used for discriminatory purposes, you can demand its removal
The amendment hasn't been implemented with law so is unenforceable
This is called 'habeas data'
It is illegal to blacklist people or discriminate based on non-merit issues

In-class Discussion (25 minutes)

Issue: What is the proper role of the government in protecting its citizens' privacy?

Group 1: You will argue that the government should protect privacy at all costs.

Group2: You will argue that there should be strict limits to your privacy rights.

Procedure:

Both groups will gather and discuss their strategy for seven minutes.

One member of each group will then give an opening statement lasting from 3 to 5 minutes, with group 1 going first. Teams will then alternate asking questions to the other team, and responding to the questions. Responses are limited to 2 minutes. Group 1 will ask the first question. At the conclusion, one member from each group will give a closing statement lasting from 3 to 6 minutes, with group 2 going first.