Hacktivism

1827 Words4 Pages

Introduction

Walk through the grocery store or go to buy a computer or a car, you will see labels for no steroids or additives, “This item meets energy star requirements”, or an EPA rating sticker. These primarily have come about from activist and lobbyist. Activism has definitely shaped our society for better or worse.

Activism has long been a practice in American society. Only recently has the Internet become a factor in political participation. Hacktivism has brought a new method of activism where people all over the world can participate in. But is this new form of activism ethical from any standpoint? This paper will discuss the ethics behind hacktivism.

Ethics

Merriam-Webster defines ethic as “the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation”. As new technology enters today’s market, ethics and morals are not always clear to everyone. Ethics and morals can differ from one person to another, this factor along with the uncertainty that comes with new technology.

Severson in 1997 talks about when Equifax and lotus notes were going to start a new consumer marketing program. The program would allow companies to buy these databases of customers’ information to use for target marketing. The methods they provided were not sufficient to the public as far as privacy and an opt out program. The product died after an uproar from the public about privacy concerns. This is just one of the ways the new technology of computing, along with developers challenges ethics.

Activism

Activism comes in many shapes and sizes and is accompanied by a plethora of controversial issues. In the 1970s the main concern of many active members of society was homosexual rights. Moving toward the middle of the century...

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... Terrorism. Knowing the relationship of hacktivism and cyber terrorism. Retrieved from http://www.infobarrel.com/The_Difference_Between_Hacktivism_and_Cyberterrorism

Samuel, A. W., (2004). Hacktivism and the Future of Political Participation. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation. Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts. Retrieved February 5, 2012, from http://www.alexandrasamuel.com/dissertation/pdfs/Samuel-Hacktivism-entire.pdf

Wray, S. (n.d.). Electronic Civil Disobedience and the World Wide Web of Hacktivism: A Mapping of Extraparliamentarian Direct Action Net Politics Retrieved from http://switch.sjsu.edu/web/v4n2/stefan/

Abaius C. (2012). Crash and Burn: Anonymous Takes Down MPAA Website in Response to Megaupload Arrest. Retrieved from http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/news/crash-and-burn-anonymous-takes-down-mpaa-website-in-response-to-megaupload-arrest.php

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