do read. Operation Chokehold -- and the Trapped Ambulance

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren () vortex com>
> Date: December 17, 2009 1:14:02 PM EST
> To: nnsquad () nnsquad org
> Subject: [ NNSquad ]  Operation Chokehold -- and the Trapped Ambulance

>                Operation Chokehold -- and the Trapped Ambulance
>
>                  http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000656.html
>
>
> Greetings.  Yesterday I suggested that "Operation Chokehold" -- an
> apparently satirical call for an iPhone-based protest against AT&T's
> mobile data network that appears to have rapidly morphed into a real
> event -- was irresponsible and even potentially deadly
> ( http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000655.html ).
>
> A number of iPhone users and others contacted me with their arguments
> about why Chokehold is a simply grand and glorious idea.
>
> Let's explore their thinking, along with an ethics quiz question to
> ponder.  We'll leave aside for now the obvious point that purposely
> flooding the network with data in an explicit attempt to disrupt its
> operations is certainly a violation of the AT&T Terms of Service.
>
> Some observers feel that since AT&T's mobile data network is so bad in
> many areas anyway, hardly anyone would notice even a large-scale
> attempt to flood the network with data in protest.  Others suggested
> that AT&T was "so evil" (some mentioned their ongoing PATRIOT Act
> wiretapping concerns) that any protest was justified, and that to
> argue against protesting corporate activities would reduce us to --
> for example -- the current situation in Iran.  A couple of people were
> concerned that the protest had been compared with terrorism in some
> quarters.  I would call the protest potentially criminal, but not
> terrorism -- given that the latter generally involves a different
> motivation, at least by my personal definitions.
>
> A more common theme -- which I noted as a legitimate concern in my
> original item -- is that important services perhaps shouldn't be using
> these kinds of public mobile networks in the first place.  This is a
> serious issue, but the reality is that given the funding and other
> limitations of many public safety infrastructures, it is not uncommon
> for some workers, who are going to do anything they can to get their
> jobs done (whether officially approved or not) to use ordinary cell
> phones and conventional mobile data resources, at least as fall-backs
> to their official equipment.
>
> Several people suggested that even though the problems with AT&T's
> mobile data network are already very well documented, the protest
> would help to highlight the situation and emphasize how dangerous it
> was to use that network for crucial activities.
>
> The issue of public safety takes us to the ethical quiz.  I find it
> very useful when analyzing Internet issues to try find historical or
> non-Internet comparisons and analogies that might help to focus the
> situation.
>
> So let's think about a typical freeway (or thruway for you
> Easterners).  This freeway is pretty busy much of the day.  Sometimes
> it's awful -- traffic slows to a crawl.  Ambulances, whose drivers are
> always trying to find the quickest routes to move their patients,
> sometimes choose to use the freeway at times when they expect the
> traffic will be relatively light and especially when their patient
> needs particularly urgent care.  Getting stuck in traffic -- for
> example behind an accident -- could result in a dead patient (this is
> not merely a hypothetical outcome).
>
> Now one day, the "Our Freeways are Too Damn Crowded" group coordinates
> a protest among their members.  They want to completely shut down a
> major freeway at midday for an hour, when it would ordinarily be
> moving along pretty well in that particular area.
>
> At the designated time, drivers from the group synchronize their
> movements across a section of freeway and pretend to have simultaneous
> engine failure, completely blocking the road.
>
> The ensuing mess takes more than an hour to clear up.  Just behind the
> protest blockage is a now trapped ambulance carrying a critical
> patient.  The ambulance driver -- based on his experience and traffic
> reports up to that hour -- had chosen to take the freeway as the best
> route for that particular trip.
>
> Due to the delay, the patient dies.
>
> The ethical question: Should the protest organizers (and/or the
> persons who actively engaged in the protest) be held culpable in some
> manner for that death?
>
> If your answer is no, then a secondary question would be how many
> deaths would be required "up front" for you to change your mind?  5?
> 100?  Or do you feel that innocent deaths -- even if low
> probability -- resulting from such an event are always justified
> to make a point?
>
> Please be sure to include the text of a condolence letter to the
> families of any victims with your replies as appropriate.
>
> Odds are that the Operation Chokehold protest won't kill anyone.  It
> may in fact not even be significantly noticed.  Those aren't the
> issues.  The question is whether even taking the risk (whether
> proposed satirically or seriously in the first place)_for the purposes
> of protesting iPhone performance is worth the chance of innocent
> persons being harmed, however small that risk may be.
>
> Common sense, and basic ethics, say no.
>
> --Lauren--
> Lauren Weinstein
> lauren () vortex com
> Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
> http://www.pfir.org/lauren
> Co-Founder, PFIR
>   - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
> Co-Founder, NNSquad
>   - Network Neutrality Squad - http://www.nnsquad.org
> Founder, GCTIP - Global Coalition
>   for Transparent Internet Performance - http://www.gctip.org
> Founder, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
> Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
> Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
> Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurenweinstein



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