Information Ethics & WikiLeaks

WikiLeaks & Information Ethics
Michael Zimmer, PhD
Center for Information Policy Research
School of Information Studies
UW-Milwaukee
zimmerm@uwm.edu
cipr.uwm.edu

www.wikileaks.ch

Origin
Launched in 2006 (wikileaks.org)
Originally launched as traditional “wiki” where users make live edits and commentary
Later changed to more traditional format where people can submit information, but editors decide what to publish
Founded by “Chinese dissidents, journalists, mathematicians and start-up company technologists, from the US, Taiwan, Europe, Australia and South Africa”
Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activist, is generally described as its director

Purpose
Original
"primary interest is in exposing oppressive regimes in Asia, the former Soviet bloc, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, but we also expect to be of assistance to people of all regions who wish to reveal unethical behaviour in their governments and corporations.”
http://web.archive.org/
Current
“The broader principles on which our work is based are the defence of freedom of speech and media publishing, the improvement of our common historical record and the support of the rights of all people to create new history.”
http://www.wikileaks.ch/About.html

Early Releases
Apparent Somali assassination order
Guantanamo Bay operating procedures
Secret 'bibles' of Scientology
Sarah Palin's Yahoo email account contents
Climategate emails
Internet censorship lists for Australia, Denmark, Thailand
570,000 intercepts of pager messages sent on 9/11
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_published_by_WikiLeaks

Somali assassination order
First document shared by WikiLeaks
December 2006
Uncertain as to its authenticity, WikiLeaks hoped by posting it online, someone could analyze and possibly authenticate it
Never resolved, but this first leak brought media attention to WikiLeaks

Guantanamo Bay operating procedures

Secret “Bibles” of Scientology
WikiLeaks published what they referred to as “the collected secret ‘bibles’ of Scientology”
Church of Scientology claimed copyright infringement, threatened to sue, and sought the identity of who leaked the documents
In response, WikiLeaks released several thousand additional pages

Sarah Palin's Yahoo email account

“Climategate” emails
Controversial documents and e-mail correspondence between climate scientists, were released (allegedly after being illegally obtained)
WikiLeaksprovided access, but wasn’t the original recipient of the leak
Notably, the emails were potentially damaging to the pro-environmental movement

Internet Censorship Blacklists
Internet censorship lists for Australia, Denmark, Thailand
Some reveal websites that appear to be beyond the scope of proposed censorship/filtering laws
Not just child pornography or terrorism related

9/11 Pager Messages
WikiLeaks released 570,000 pager messages sent on the day of the September 11 attacks
"the archive is a completely objective record of the defining moment of our time. We hope that its revelation will lead to a more nuanced understanding of the event and its tragic consequences."
According to Bradley Manning, they came from NSA database – thus, possibly intercepted by government through illegal surveillance

Recent Releases
Video of Baghdad airstrike – “Collateral Murder”
Afghanistan and Iraq war logs
Diplomatic cables

July 12, 2007 Baghdad airstrike
www.collateralmurder.com

Afghan and Iraq War Logs
92,000 documents related to the war in Afghanistan
400,000 documents relating to the Iraq war
Mostly raw field intelligence reports, detailing
Mundane status reports, but also
Civilian & friendly-fire casualties
War crimes, psy-ops
Influence of outside forces

United States diplomatic cables leak
Starting in Nov 2010, daily release (~80 per day) of detailed correspondence between the U.S. State Department and its diplomatic missions around the world
Over 250,000 documents, detailing international affairs from 300 embassies dated from 1966–2010
containing diplomatic analysis of world leaders, assessments of host countries, discussions about international and domestic issues
Leaked from the U.S. SIPRNet, the U.S. Department of Defense’s classified version of the civilian internet

Reaction to “Cablegate”
WikiLeaks experienced distributed denial of service attacks, attempting to bring down its website
Various service providers cut ties
DNS provider (making “wikileaks.org” inoperable)
Amazon stopped providing hosting services
PayPal, MasterCard, and Visa stopped processing donations
Air Force personnel were blocked from accessing website, others warned
Twitter accounts subpoenaed
“Anonymous” counter-attacked websites which were involved in censorship/disruption of Wikileaks

Summary, so far
WikiLeaks receives submissions and provides (secure, anonymous) access
Rarely, if ever, digs up information itself
Sometimes the information is originally obtained illegally
Protects sources, as best it can
Divulges secrets, exposes power relationships, disrupts global politics (and media)
Has limited accountability or regulability

Ethics
We use ethics as a means to support (some set of) broader social values
Maximizing the greater good
Avoiding harm
Being fair
Respecting human dignity
Ensuring justice
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Information Ethics
How the pursuit of these values can be supported through the production, storage, distribution, and use of information, as well as the related information systems, infrastructures, policies, and professional duties
Broader ethical concerns embedded within issues such as:
Information access & control
Information security & privacy
Intellectual freedom

Information Access & Control
WikiLeaks supports access, diminishes control
Belief that the greater good is served through openness, transparency
Fights strict intellectual property enforcement
Encourages whistle blowing
But, WikiLeaks is increasingly engaging in control tactics
Limiting the release of diplomatic cables
Negotiating preferred access with media
Editing/annotating content prior to release
Withholding an “insurance file” in case something happens to Assange

Information Security & Privacy
WikiLeaks has been accused of threatening security & privacy
Leaking secret government information threatens national security
Leaking names of special ops personnel and informants threatens their safety (and their families)
But, there are some positives
WikiLeaks is now scrubbing (some) leaks to remove (some) personal information
Exposing ease of access to “secure” systems can lead to improved security procedures

Intellectual Freedom
WikiLeaks presents unique challenges regarding intellectual freedom
ALA / AALL / SLA ethical codes & principles urge providing full access to information to satisfy the unique needs of all patrons
What is our ethical responsibility as information professionals?

Intellectual Freedom
“Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation”
But what if the materials were originally obtained illegally?
“Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment”
Does this allow resistance to government secrecy?
“Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.”
To what extent should a library cooperate with WikiLeaks, or similar organizations?
(ALA Library Bill of Rights)

Resolution on Access to and Classification of Government Information (ALA OIF/COL)
WHEREAS, public access to information by and about the government is a basic tenet of a democratic society and crucial to the public’s ability to hold the government accountable for its actions
WHEREAS, libraries are essential to the free flow of ideas and to insuring the public’s right to know
WHEREAS, a democratic society needs to balance the fundamental right to access government information with the necessity to withhold certain information essential to security
…WHEREAS, WikiLeaks’ ongoing disclosure of large numbers of classified and unclassified United States government documents has renewed debate about access to, and classification of government information
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Resolution on Access to and Classification of Government Information (ALA OIF/COL)
Urges the [government] to defend the inalienable right of the press and citizens to disseminate information to the public about national security issues and to refrain from initiatives that impair these rights
Affirms the principle that government information made public within the boundaries of U.S. law should be available through libraries and the press without restriction (emphasis added)
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Information Ethics & WikiLeaks
“Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.” (ALA Bill of Rights)
“The broader principles on which our work is based are the defence of freedom of speech and media publishing, the improvement of our common historical record and the support of the rights of all people to create new history.” (WikiLeaks)
“Government information made public within the boundaries of U.S. law should be available through libraries and the press without restriction” (OIF/COL Resolution)

WikiLeaks & Information Ethics
Michael Zimmer, PhD
Center for Information Policy Research
School of Information Studies
UW-Milwaukee
zimmerm@uwm.edu
cipr.uwm.edu

Information Ethics & WikiLeaks

by Michael Zimmer on Apr 14, 2011

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Information Ethics & WikiLeaks — Presentation Transcript