Dear AoIR-ists, I was honored to speak in early March at the 2005 national conference of Canada's National Council on Ethics in Human Research (NCEHR)/Conseil national d'éthique en recherche chez l'humain (CNERH), on the topic of "International Restrictions Affecting Internet Research: Conflicts, Risks, Resolutions?" The obligatory (and helpful, I hope) PowerPoint is available: www.drury.edu/ess/NCEHR_CNERH/ESS.htm The first part is a bit of an overview of Internet research ethics, following the AoIR guidelines, with some more recent literature and cases referenced. The second part examines notions of privacy and data privacy protection laws cross-culturally, starting with (now familiar) U.S. / Canada / E.U. / Scandinavian comparison, but then extending into an "East-West" (still useful shorthand, despite the colonialist dimensions?) comparison that includes attention to Japan, Thailand, South Korea, and China - initially with a view towards Buddhist and Confucian influences on notions of privacy and its relative importance (and/or lack thereof). Roughly, it is clear that Western attitudes towards privacy are largely affiliated with modernity, industrialization, and conceptions of the individual vis-à-vis democratic polity. National interests in many Asian countries in developing e-commerce, however, are forcing the development of data privacy protection, even if absent Western-style justifications grounded on individualism/democracy - though perhaps notions of the the latter, as transformed appropriately within specific cultural contexts/traditions/histories, may be discerned as emerging as well. In any event, I argue that a pluralism between Western and Eastern nations regarding notions of privacy and implementation of data privacy protections can be discerned - one that shows resonance, if not close agreement, on basic notions and values, alongside the multiple and irreducible differences that mark diverse national/cultural traditions/values/histories. As I happily acknowledge at the beginning of the lecture, this work represents a collaborative dialogue among many, many colleagues in Japan, China, Thailand, and Korea - especially as fostered by the invaluable work of my colleagues at Trier University, Karl-Heinz Pohl (Chinese Studies) and Hans-Jürgen Bucher (Media Studies), and made possible by a Fulbright-sponsored stay last fall at Trier. A more complete synopsis of the lecture will be published on the NCEHR/CNERH website (<http://ncehr-cnerh.org/>). If anyone would like to see it more immediately, please contact me offlist and I'll happily send it along. Comments, criticisms, and suggestions welcome! Charles Ess Distinguished Research Professor, Interdisciplinary Studies Drury University 900 N. Benton Ave. Voice: 417-873-7230 Springfield, MO 65802 USA FAX: 417-873-7435 Home page: http://www.drury.edu/ess/ess.html Co-chair, CATaC: http://www.it.murdoch.edu.au/catac/ Exemplary persons seek harmony, not sameness. -- Analects 13.23