Information Technology Acts

Information Technology Acts That Work
Introduction to Computer Application and Systems

Information Technology Acts That Work Over the last three to four decades, computers and technology are improving very rapidly. Electronic devices seem to be taking over everything we do. There are many people who unfortunately, lost their jobs because of new technology. For example, according to Voorhis (2010),
“Some of the 13,000 Wichita-area jobs lost since 2008 are gone. Forever. Welders, aircraft wing assemblers, the woman who answered the phone, the guy who wrote ad copy. Employers replaced them with robots”.
This shows that technology can be bad for some people. However, the pros definitely outweigh the cons when debating whether new information technology is positive or negative. With all the new information technology being created over the last few decades, there has to be protection and laws that come along as well. There are many Information Technology Acts that help protect the people and their private information, financial information and from annoying advertisements that just bug. Have you ever received a call from a telemarketer and he or she just keeps rambling on about some product but you don’t want to be rude and just hang up? Did you hang up the phone on the telemarketer while they were still talking? Well it does happen and those calls can be annoying and frustrating. Some people have to make those calls, imagine what it must be like for them during a normal business day. As phone prices lowered over the years, almost everyone in the United States eventually had a phone line at their home. Before the Internet became extremely popular, more people used their phones for communication and for shopping. This opened the door for businesses to hire people to make sales calls for their company. Eventually, in 2003, a law was passed and called the, “Do Not Call Implementation Act”. This law was passed for a couple reasons, “To protect consumers from unwanted phone calls from telemarketers. It also led to the establishment of fees to support the Do Not Call Registry and the creation of the Do Not Call Registry” (Benson, n.d., 1).
This helps to eliminate those annoying telemarketing calls we all get and to also help fund the registry. The Do Not Call Registry pretty much takes your name and puts it on a list that telemarketers cannot call. The F.C.C. (Federal Communications Commission) and the Federal Trade Commission would create and maintain the Do Not Call Registry. With the evolution of phones and advances in information technology, Congress felt they needed to create an act to help protect the people from unnecessary phone calls. Have you ever received unwanted messages via text or email on your cell phone? Probably not as often as you would receive spam emails on your desktop or laptop. With the evolution of cell phones over the last 15 years, they have drastically decreased in price from when they first started to hit the market. What does that mean? More opportunities for businesses to advertise on cell phones! Basically, “Congress passed the CAN-SPAM Act to address the rapid growth in unwanted commercial electronic mail messages” (CAN-SPAM - Unwanted commercial electronic mail, 2007). Again, Congress was actually looking out for people and tried to eliminate the unwanted and sometimes plain unnecessary messages that we receive on our cell phones. Maybe Congress knew additional alerts on a cell phone could be a distraction while driving? Were they trying to control the assault of non-solicited pornography? Whatever the main reason, we are happy they did help prevent unwanted messages on the cell phone. Now if they could only eliminate all junk emails! With the advances in information technology over the last few decades, Congress has tried to protect the people and solve these new ethical issues that have come to light. Congress did some good things in 2003, passing the Do Not Call Implementation Act and Controlling the Assault of Non-solicited Pornography and Marketing (CAN-SPAM) Act. These acts also help protect children because some advertisements have girls that are either naked or pretty close to naked. Parents do not want their children stumbling upon nudity. These acts both help to eliminate phone calls and unwanted messages that we receive.

References
Benson, C. (n.d.). The do not call implementation act. eHow. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/facts_5490035_do-not-call-i mplementation-act.html

CAN-SPAM - Unwanted commercial electronic mail. (2010). Retrieved from http://transition.fcc.gov/cgb/policy/canspam.html

Voorhis, D. (2010, May). Some jobs lost forever to technology. Wichita Eagle. Retrieved from http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/05/20/94554/some- jobs-lost-forever-to-technology.html

References: Benson, C. (n.d.). The do not call implementation act. eHow. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/facts_5490035_do-not-call-i mplementation-act.html CAN-SPAM - Unwanted commercial electronic mail. (2010). Retrieved from http://transition.fcc.gov/cgb/policy/canspam.html Voorhis, D. (2010, May). Some jobs lost forever to technology. Wichita Eagle. Retrieved from http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/05/20/94554/some- jobs-lost-forever-to-technology.html