General Topic Categories and sample issues

• Should certain material on the Internet be censored?  E.g., pro-anorexia,  racist groups, bogus political advocacy
  
• Should internet access be restricted in libraries and schools?
• Are there limits to rights to free speech if it violates community standards of decency?
• Should spam e-mail be regulated or illegal?  Is spam protected under freedom of speech?
• Should individuals be prohibited from anonymous postings (or "chatting") on the internet?
• Should certain activities be prohibited on the internet?  E.g., gambling, hunting.
  

• How to balance individual right to privacy with government desire for surveillance
• Crime fighting versus privacy and civil liberties, e.g.,  police using GPS trackers.
  
• Consumer Information and marketing databases
• Access vs privacy of public records (e.g., sex offenders)
  
• National ID systems
• USA PATRIOT Act
  
• California Proposition 69: DNA database
• RFID systems
• GPS enabled cell phones
• red-light traffic cameras
  

• How to balance needs for distribution of artistic works with rights of authors to protect their intellectual property?
• Recent legal cases about copyright infringement and the Internet
• Legislation, e.g., DMCA
  
• Copy protection mechanisms, e.g., DCSS,  Digital Rights Management, etc.
  
• Unauthorized music downloading
• Unauthorized movie downloading
• Software piracy
• "ClearPlay" movie filtering DVD player.
• Google versus the Author's Guild
  
• Open source software and the Free Software movement
  

• hacking
  
• cyberextortion
  
• viruses and worms
  
• fraud, forgery, embezzlement
• phishing
• identity theft
• biometrics
  

• Are computers reliable and secure for the tasks which they are responsible for?
• Should software developers be licensed?
• Electronic voting
• Online dating
• Digital manipulation of photos, music, etc.  e.g. fashion model photos
• Medical diagnosis, surgery, etc.
• System failure anecdotes
  

• Job destruction.  (E.g., grocery self-check)
• deskilling
• E.g., Voice response customer service
• Telecommuting
• Employee monitoring
• health problems from computer use, e.g. RSI
  
• environmental pollution from discarded computers
  
• Is the convenience of online education worth the lack of classroom experience?
• Does computer mediated instruction actually produce better learning?
• Should there be technology-related learning goals for K-12 students?
  

• Do computers really make us more productive?
• Are we too dependent on computers?
• Do computers make people lazy?
  
• Is the internet creating people who are narrow, isolated and unsocial?
• Is the internet destroying communities?
• Is internet addiction a real phenomenon?
  
• Is e-commerce bad for local economies?
• Are violent computer games bad for children?
• Do we overrely on "infallible" computers (e.g. internet sources of information).
• Do we abdicate our responsibility to exercise judgement and let computers make decisions for us?
  
• Is the digital divide increasing the wealth gap, employment gap, etc.
• Does computer use hinder cognitive/emotional development?
• Is computer obsolecence an unsustainable economic model?
• Do computers contribute to the destruction of the natural environment?
• Do computers benefit big business disproportionately to individuals?
• Do computer technologies distract us from real social problems (poverty, racism, crime, health care, etc.)?
• Do we create computer products simply because the technology exists rather than because it meets a real need?
• Are computer technologies "dehumanizing" our society?