Internet Ethics

"The fostering of an Internet societal infrastructure consciously ethical, is needed to curtail the new era of global irresponsibility that is at hand."

The internet although useful is somewhat of the wild, wild, west when it comes to ethics and how people conduct themselves. Sure there are laws prohibiting certain things on the internet but even those are vague and broad based.

I am referring to ethical standards the same as we have in physical society. Example, you may not go straight up to someone in public and give them your honest opinion on a sensitive matter such as being pro choice for fear that person may not take your comments to well and there could be real trouble. However, online people have absolutely no trouble saying whatever they want in a blog or straight to another person on a chat room etc. This is in my opinion due to the fact that people have such a high level of anonymity online. Nobody knows anything about the other person typing these things. This kind of blatant ethical disregard doesn't happen in email. When you send an email the recipient knows exactly who it is coming from. This creates a built in level of ethical rule minding.
As we continue to move more and more towards a global economy and society it will be come increasingly more important for us to focus in on the importance of carrying high levels of ethical standards while online. This should be taught in school and by parents and authority figures just as it is when referring to physical relationships.

Ethical standards should also come into play when posting information online. With the evolution of the "blog", more people are finding their voice online and providing their opinions on all sorts of topics. These pieces of information are exactly that, opinions. Opinions are fine so long as they are given in that manner and the reader understands that the information is nothing more than opinion and not to be taken as fact. If we fail to implement a certain level of ethical standard online, the internet will grow to become more and more of an entertainment tool and less and less of a reliable source of information.

Steve Prew

Shearer, J. (1998). The campaign for an ethical internet. ACM Policy, 80-85.