Ethics in Cyberspace
Cyberspace is a global community of people using computers in networks.
In order to function well, the virtual communities supported by the Internet
depend upon rules of conduct, the same as any society. Librarians and
information technologists must be knowledgeable about ethical issues for the
welfare of their organizations and to protect and advise users.
What is ethics? Ethics is the art of determining what is right or good.
It can also be defined as a general pattern or way of life, a set of rules of
conduct or moral code. Ethical guidelines are based on values.
The Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) is one national organization
which has developed a statement of its values. Every member of ACM is expected
to uphold the Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct which includes these
general moral imperatives:
1) contribute to society and human well-being
2) avoid harm to others
3) be honest and trustworthy
4) be fair and take action not to discriminate
5) honor property rights including copyrights and patents
6) give proper credit for intellectual property
7) respect the privacy of others
8) honor confidentiality.
The very nature of electronic communication raises new moral issues.
Individuals and organizations should be proactive in examining these concerns
and developing policies which protect liabilities. Issues which need to be
addressed include: privacy of mail, personal identities, access and control of
the network, pornographic or unwanted messages, copyright, and commercial uses
of the network. An Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) is recommended as the way an
organization should inform users of expectations and responsibilities. Sample
AUPs are available on the Internet at gopher sites and can be retrieved by using
Veronica to search keywords "acceptable use policies" or "ethics."
The Computer Ethics Institute in Washington, D.C. has developed a "Ten
Commandments of Computing":
1) Thou shalt not use a computer to harm other people.
2) Thou shalt not interfere with other people's computer work.
3) Thou shalt not snoop around in other people's computer files.
4) Thou shalt not use a computer to steal.
5) Thou shalt not use a computer to bear false witness.
Folkway can be described as community customs. Folkways can also refer to the standards of behavior that are socially accepted, however, not morally significant. They are considered the norms for everyday behavior that the community is expected to follow for the purpose of tradition and convenience. Norms on the other hand can be described as particular cultural expectations that govern the behavior of people in a society. Breaking a folkway is not a serious offence and does not lead to a sanction. Examples of folkways include cultural forms of food habits and dress.
It has been defined as a set or system of linked social structures, institutions, relations, customs, values and practices, which conserve, maintain and enforce certain patterns of relating or behaving (Frank, 1944).
cultural rules by focusing the cultural rules on the universal rights of a human being.
Abstract: This paper examines the use of Internet technologies (specifically SafeWeb.com) to counteract invasions of personal privacy and censorship. The paper begins by exploring the methods by which governments, corporations, and commercial agents invade personal privacy. It also discusses Internet censorship on the corporate and governmental levels. It then proceeds to discuss SafeWeb.com, a technology that allows Internet users to surf the Web privately and view censored content. The paper finishes by exploring some of the ethical issues raised by Internet privacy and censorship in specific relation to SafeWeb, concluding that the application of SafeWeb in circumventing the authority of governments and corporations is inherently unethical.
Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves and thereby reveal themselves selectively. The boundaries and content of what is considered private differ among cultures and individuals, but share basic common themes. Privacy is sometimes related to anonymity, the wish to remain unnoticed or unidentified in the public realm. When something is private to a person, it usually means there is something within them that is considered inherently special or personally sensitive. The degree to which private information is exposed therefore depends on how the public will receive this information, which differs between places and over time. Privacy can be seen as an aspect of security — one in which trade-offs between the interests of one group and another can become particularly clear.
Culture can be defined as “A pattern of basic assumptions invented, discovered or developed by a given group as it learns to cope with its problems of external adaptation and internal integration that has worked well enough to be considered valid, and therefore to be taught to the new members as the correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to those problems”. Schein (1988)
(De Ross, 2015) As for tradition, it’s definition is ‘A belief, principle, or a way of acting that people in a particular society
With media communication on the rise, it is important for humans to remember the basic respect levels that come with both media and face to face communication. In my opinion, media communication requires the same amount of respect as face to face communication. If a person is unable to confront or criticise a person face to face, they should not be able to do it in a media conversation. In my experiences, I have found it much easier to deal with confrontation over a phone, but I also find that some of the rudest comments I have made are over text. In many cases, I would rather have an argument over texting than face to face. Along with some cases where it is easier to be rude on media conversations, certain times, I have found myself saying better
Culture constitutes common characteristics of a particular group of people or a society such as behaviors, beliefs, objects, and any other characteristics of such a people. It is thus through culture, that groups of people define their unique characteristics that conform to their shared values and contribute towards building the society as sociologist suggests. Therefore, culture includes different societal aspects such as the customs, language, norms, values, tools, rules, products, technologies, morals, institutions, and organizations. The terms organizations and institutions will thus refer to the set of rules associated with specific activities within the society. For instance, healthcare, education, security, family, religion, and work
In today’s society technology is used for everything. With the invention of computers and the internet this open doors to the cyber world. Today you can do almost anything without having to leave your home. The internet gives us the opportunity of shopping online, ordering food online, working from home and video chatting with friends and family across the world. Everyone has a computer and internet access in their homes. While the internet is really convenient it also opens doors for cybercrimes, loss of privacy and the need for computer security.
The 90's internet boom gave rise to new ways of writing in through access to cyberspace. What used to be printed or handwritten on physical surfaces such as paper, cardboard, or bulletin boards has changed to 0's and 1's, bits and bytes of digitized information that can be displayed thru the projections of computer screens. Moreover, the internet has made the process of publishing one's works, writing letters, or chatting with one another much easier and convenient for everyone around the globe. The internet became a universal tool, giving much freedom and flexibility to the users; it gave them opportunity to deliver their thoughts with little or no restrictions. Since it's impossible to regulate all cyber-activities, internet users are often unrestricted by the normal laws or authorities that would set boundaries around the various online transactions. More importantly, the fact that a net user can take on different identities in cyberspace brings about several ethical and social issues. These anonymous and unrestrictive characteristics of cyberspace often permite abusive users to easily involve themselves in serious cybercrimes such as cyberstalking, cyber-rape, and cyber-harassment through chatting services, emails, cyber communities, and other online communication.
Culture is the totality of learned, socially transmitted customs, knowledge, material objects and behavior. It includes the ideas, value, customs and artifacts of a group of people (Schaefer, 2002). Culture is a pattern of human activities and the symbols that give these activities significance. It is what people eat, how they dress, beliefs they hold and activities they engage in. It is the totality of the way of life evolved by a people in their attempts to meet the challenges of living in their environment, which gives order and meaning to their social, political, economic, aesthetic and religious norms and modes of organization thus distinguishing people from their neighbors.
Cybercrime and social media are two major global problems that impact society. Today, are more accessible to computers and the Internet than in years prior. Nonetheless, perpetrators attack social media with illegal activity to facilitate their crime. There are different strategies or practices by various countries to combat cybercrime. However, identity theft, cyberbullying and phishing are three major type of cybercrimes which are impacting social networking websites.
Main issue of this paragraph is internet and the relations between human being and internet. So, it was wanted to describe the internet by using words “specific windows”. Windows are useful for us to watch the panorama of the world at the outside of our homes, and internet is also a kind of window that shows not only the outside of our homes, also the whole world that we can not see by our house windows. So we can say that internet is a big window for us, the specific one.
The Internet has received a great deal of attention in the media lately due to its tremendous