CASE FOUR
AN ANONYMOUS COMPUTER HOTLINE: IS IT WORTH THE COSTS?
The City Council is vetting the fiscal year 2000 budget
for the city’s Department of Social Services. One area that has come
under close scrutiny is the anonymous computer hotline, which is intended
to receive reports ranging from suspected child abuse to persons contemplating
suicide without revealing the identity of the sender. At least one Council
member wants to eliminate the hotline, claiming that it’s too easy for
people to send messages, many of which are false or frivolous, leading
to a substantial drain on the city’s resources. She argues that the
costs outweigh the benefits, at least based on current usage, and that,
in any event, the department’s telephone hotline in service for several
years is a cost-effective alternative. Another Council member speaks
in support of the computer hotline. He contends that its ease of use
makes the computer hotline especially valuable. Moreover, people tend
to accept the computer as a more secure line of communication than the
telephone, and this leads to communications from those who might otherwise
be reluctant to contact the department.
Discussion Questions
- As a member of the city council how would you vote?
- What basic information would you want to have in order to make
a decision?
- How would you weigh the costs and benefits associated with credible
versus frivolous messages in assessing the value of the computer
hotline?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of the Department of
Social Services’ use of a computer versus telephone hotline?
- What is your reaction to the Council member’s claim that "people
tend to accept the computer as a more secure line of communication
than the telephone"? Is there a need for public education on
this matter?
This case was prepared by staff at the American
Association for the Advancement of Science as part of
a project on "Anonymous Communications on the Internet: Uses and
Abuses" (see http://www.aaas.org/spp/anon), funded by a grant from
the National Science Foundation. This case may be downloaded and used
for educational purposes.
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