For the immediate action against watch and control*1)

*1) {{The text is about watch and outflow of private informations only in the cyber space}}

Kim, young sik (Cyberright Team)

Since 1990, informationized technologies has been surged into the society by the necessity of multinational corporations to dominate the world economy and for making labor market flexible in Korea. This technologies attempted to control the labor and is rapidly developed to control society. Especially since the crisis of Capitalistic economy in 1998, people felt the crisis of unemployment and that productivity is the most important thing. According to these consciousness, information-communication technology only underlines its 'so-convenient.' Therefore, a fact that technologies are determined by the class strife in a real space was covered. Equipment for watch, control on the labor and society are imported without any trouble.

Post-modernism caused excessive concealment of deconcentration of information- communication technology for 10 years. Also futurists like Alvin Toffler think that this technology accomplishes democracy. The most serious problem is present situation. The ideology of futurists succeed in segregating people from the debate on 'technology and human rights' or 'class distinction of technology' in work place and cyber space.

In this text, we can see some data and experiences about privacy in cyber space.

Computer Communication at Work Place

The inconsistency of cyber space is uncovered at work place which extremely shows the conflicted relations among the classes. In the beginning of 1970s, The deconcentrated team system has imported for the responsible self-control and for the escape from structural crisis of 'decrease of productivity and earning rate' caused by the technically- frozen labor process, subdivided labor composition and unemployment in the labor market. 'Integration of centralization and deconcentration' made this change possible not by the change of bureaucracy and centralized control system but by the electronic watch system.

Information-communication technology is basically automatized one. Therefore, 24 hours watch is possible and informations are automatically chosen, stored and edited. It also possibly chase and supervise every actions beyond time and space. However, because of its invisibility, it is easy to control labor. Laborer and people may not feel and understand its hidden intention for watch because it superficially pretend to admit the self-control of labor.

According to the special issue of <Mcworld> on privacy, investigations and examples on the industries like a communication and insurance bank say that approximately 80 percent laborers are under the inspection by the phone or computer and about 20 millions of Americans may be exposed by the electronic monitoring on their jobs. Also ILO report says that 20% employers has searched for laborers' computer files, voice mail boxes, e-mails and other network systems, etc. Almost has searched for left files about works, and more than 40% for e-mails, 28% for networking messages, 15% for voice mail.

Korea is not excepted. [(Research for watch at work place)] say that, in 108 corporations, 63% has the networking system. And in this system, 82.3% are operated to collect, store and keep on record the working situation and results of private laborers. Actually, Hankuk Tire used these records to oppress the laborers who had prepared for the construction of trade union. Also small and medium sized enterprises are developing many kinds of supervising programs.

Recently, to see the advertisements on the newspapers, we can see that programs for the mail*2) inspection are often sold. These programs for watching laborers make easy to do that job without professional knowledges on the special system.

*2) {{There model programs such as Net Access Manager, WabTrack and Internet WatchDog.}}

Generally, in the case of criminal investigation, to set surveillance on a suspect the investigation section has to follow legal procedures and it is possible only when there is legal permission from the court, but a legal system to protect the capitalist from surveillance in the name of protection of the right of property in the case between the capitalist and the laborer is nonexistent, what is worse it is taken for granted within the laborers so in actuality they are not even admitted as much privacy as the criminal.

A place for computer communications outside of the workplace - I

Examples of infringement of privacy is not limited to the working place. As the information society enlarges in a broad sense because the producer of intelligence merchandise is the user of the cyber space, that is to say the capitalist naturally starts to record and administer the consumers'(users) information. The space of computer communication is made up of informationalized technique, so without the concern of the persons who use the communication space the capital can collect and concentrate information such as behavior, hobbies, personal mail etc.*3), and this is already in operation.

*3) {{Main examples are "cookie". cookies is a very small(under 4 kb) digital file.}}

In the case of the Intel company as in the circumstances of the development of the Pentium ¥² chip, there were characterized numbers put into each chip so when using the internet a technique to transmit the characterized numbers of the chips containing the computer users' information to the outside was chosen, and the transmission of the personal information is one-sidedly*4) transmitted. Also, Microsoft(MS) in 1995 used Microsoft Network(MSN) included in a new operating system, the program designed to automatically transmit personal information to Microsoft when using computer communications, making confutation, then recently in the case of Windows 98 which MS developed the fact that they made it so the user wouldn't know that personal information can flow into MS*5) also reflects this case. Not only a worldwide company like MS, but it is also naturally managed in Hitel and Chollian, and the fact that collected personal information flows out is already a known fact, companies like Goldbank that openly give money and buy personal information are appearing.

*4) {{Of course there is an option of stopping the function of outside transmission. But to most people who do not use computers professionally this option is useless. In this way it is 'one-sided'.}}

*5) {{To be able to discern individuals(ID) by the papers composed through word processing and Excel of MS they made 32 digit characterized numbers that contains users' computer information and when a number goes through registration of Windows 98 it is sent to MS. (look up electric-newspaper March 11, 1998 for details)}}

A place for computer communications outside of the workplace - II

The national organization is another subject that rules the computer communications area. Especially in underdeveloped countries that induced information- communication technology by state leadership from the start like Korea, it is hard to expect democratic elements.

In 1998 based upon data from the parliamentary inspection of the administration it has been acknowledged that they already have introduced a surveillance equipment called 'data modem intercept'*6) that even transmission/reception of information in private through either industrial or personal computer communications is possible to be secretly monitored by the procuratorial authorities. And in the first half of 1999 according to the data of the parliamentary inspection of the administration, in Korea's representative PC communication companies like Nownuri, Chollian, Hitel and Unitel it has been known that last year there were 906 cases of personal information that was offered to inspection organizations like police, national intelligence etc. and following that there were 562 cases of personal information that was offered to the national intelligence, what is more there were 86 cases in the first half of this year of the user's ID and code number being safely transferred to the inspection section through ID surveillance that made it possible to snatch all of a specific person's information. Along with this, if information flow-out in Netsgo, Channel i and other communications companies is added it is presumed to be much more. It has been stated that PC communication companies went so far as receiving request from the inspection section to offer development of new technology to get information, and after being requested by the inspection section to be able to see the members' E-mail, they mobilized a technical team to make it possible to refer to the contents of the E-mail without the code number and they also have employees wholly responsible for managing the requests of the inspection section to offer information*7).

*6) {{In data from the parliamentary inspection of the administration made known by Kim, Chae-chun, a member of the National assembly the Prosecutor-General's Office has purchased 1 data modem intercept, 4 surveillance fax machines, 3 phonetic tapping systems, 2 multichannel surveillance systems etc. (Nov. 3, 1998, the Hangyorae Newspaper)}}

*7) {{Donga ilbo Sept. 11, 1999}}

The possibility of a national organization to violate privacy through computer communications technology does not exist within one country. Recently Window NT/95/98/2000 of MS, [NSAkey]*8) was discovered so that not only personal but information subordination between nations is being worried.

*8) {{14) There were 2 Keys found in window95/98/NT/2000, in one Key the word NSA was said to be found. "http://www.computerworld.com/home/news.nsf/all/9909035winkey"}}

What should we do?

It is needed that privacy is defined, in a positive meaning, the right to manage and control the information about oneself. It means that not only each own privacy must not be infringed, but also one can check and correct his/her information in order to prevent misunderstanding previously which may happen in case that individual information is not correct.

With the base of this principle, privacy can be permitted as a labor right by trade union through introducing "new-technology agreement" in a collective agreement. We can example the agreement that public union confederation in Newzealand made. According to the agreement, no technical chase can't be allowed. Computer system is not used in monitoring workers' private activity and position, and also the information monitoring work group's activity can be easily accessed to people who are influenced by the information. It is required that workers and public union confederation know whole process in gathering private information, and they can discuss or change the matter.

Considering that workers in Korea spend most time in their workplace, we have to focus on privacy protection campaign in workplace. However, in order that the right of privacy will be accepted as a legal right, the objection campaign against watching camera in workplace has its limitation.

In a recent example that police tapped wives' of trade union managers, it is revealed that capital and state owning information-communication technology watch and control people in or out workplace. Particularly, public servants' frigidity about individual privacy protection forces us to manage the problem hurriedly. Some methods that workers cope with the problem outside workplace are as below.

First, as a part of actual reaction, there is a campaign of revising or abolishing concerned law. So far, there have existed two legal items - the 54th article 3rd clause in the electric communication business law and the 199th article in the criminal procedure law - related with the outflow of private information in computer network. These two laws enable the investigating authorities to outflow private information without a judicial judgement, along with an ambiguous standard of the necessity in investigation. As a result, under the investigating authorities' one-sidely judgement, they can chase and watch every individual activity legally.

Also E-mail is tapped by the 199th article in the criminal procedure law and the communication secret protection law. According to the latter, E-mail stored in a hard disk can't be protected, but only E-mail during the transmission can be kept secret.

However, only the reaction against those laws can't have a big weight in Korea. Even though those laws are applied legally, the campaign for the revision and abolishment of concerned law in the parliament has its limitation, seeing the fact that law authorities issue the tapping warrant almost by 100%. Therefore, it is needed that we gather examples for those laws to be misused and inform people of them. Furthermore, this mood should be widespread in a whole laborer-people campaign through public hearing and open forum. Also, trade union should make efforts to teach privacy protection in a course of their computer education and to let this campaign be connected with observation against the state's power. For this reason, electronic fingerprint stamp opposition movement is protesting against data correspondence technologies like electronic fingerprint stamp system the government is promoting although these are not cyber space. The opposition movement is an organization of public laborers who are confronting this system of watch and control over the whole nation. Decisive measurements are needed to expand the understanding of privacy rights of the people and for them to take speak up and defence themselves.

Second, active use of independent networks like progress network. since the system operator has authority within the cyber space, protection of privacy are depended on administration agreements and the conscience of the operator. It is true that the commercial PC communication corporations in Korea is subordinated to the capital and the government, as previously mentioned in the parliamentary inspection of the administration data. But networks independent from capital and the government has the advantage of protecting laborers from violation of privacy and preventing inhuman inspections. Especially training on privacy protection and plans for supplying programs included in the progress network in Korea are very important on protecting privacy rights of public laborer.

The third method is to send the coded E-mail, although it might be unfamiliar. Hackers, state organs and system operators are 'god' like beings in cyber space, able to do any they wish. Protecting oneself is the safest way to protect one's personal life. A movement to use codes routinely in cyber space is the best way to generalize this method. PGP(Pretty Good Privacy) program is a world-wide recognized E-mail encoding program that does not have the keys which can unlock everything and since its is a source release program it can be downloaded for free from cyber space. By activating this program in cyber space training at progress network, working place or social organizations, the program can be generalized. Social labor organizations that uses E-mail must receive training and then the program will spread through members of the organizations.

Conclusion Substitute

Maybe information technology, representative of cyber space is falling over as a watch and controlled increasing space rather than a liberal mutual space? Cognition that only selected one's can have access on information technology human rights in cyber space means that information technology like cyber space is not a technology where human rights can be strengthened but a place where human rights can get deteriorated.

But technology is related with society and new technology reform is specified and selected by each capital and power relation between capital and laborer. This means that the capability of public laborers control is simple just as the control of capital information technology referred early. But in reality, the true image of public laborers.

Being adapted very fast and desperate to a new change, capital is beyond the perception and countermeasure of laborers and people. This means that the quick countermeasure of laborers and people is required in cyber space as well as on the new technologies.