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TETRIC


September 15
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October 27
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November 17


Friday, October 27, 1:30-3:30 p.m.

Taking the Byte Out of Cookies: Privacy, Consent, and the Web (1:30-2:30)
Michael C. Loui
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and
Coordinated Science Laboratory
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
On sabbatical at CMU, 2000-01


Abstract. Whereas previous accounts of privacy have ignored individual preferences, we propose that informed consent can distinguish a loss of privacy from a violation of the individual's right to privacy. We extend the analysis to Internet cookies, a technology used by Web browsers, which have been criticized for violating privacy. Analyzing reasonable expectations for privacy and the distinctions between collection and centralization of information, however, we conclude that some uses of cookies are morally permissible. (Joint work with Daniel Lin)

Biographical Sketch Born in Philadelphia, Pa., Michael C. Loui earned the B.S. at Yale University in 1975, and the S.M. and Ph.D. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1977 and 1980.

Since 1981, he has been at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he is professor of electrical and computer engineering and research professor in the Coordinated Science Laboratory. From 1996 to 2000, he served as associate dean of the Graduate College at Illinois. From 1990 to 1991, he directed the Theory of Computing program at the National Science Foundation in Washington, D.C. His scholarly interests include computational complexity theory, theory of parallel and distributed computation, fault-tolerant software, and professional ethics.

Professor Loui won the Everitt Award for Teaching Excellence in the College of Engineering at Illinois in 1984, and the campus's Luckman Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award in 1995. He is on the editorial boards of Information and Computation and Accountability in Research, and he has been a guest editor of Science and Engineering Ethics.