Transcript Chapter Twelve: Environmental Ethics

Chapter Twelve:
Computer Ethics
and the Internet
Review
Applying Ethics: A Text with Readings (10th ed.)
Julie C. Van Camp, Jeffrey Olen, Vincent Barry
Cengage Learning/Wadsworth
What Is Computer Ethics?
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How does James Moor, a pioneer in computer ethics,
understand it?
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How else can we understand “computer ethics”?
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“analysis of the nature and social impact of computer
technology and the corresponding formulation and justification
of policies for the ethical use of such technology”
Examination of policies and guidelines for how to behave
ethically in the computer and internet environment
How can we use ethical reasoning methods to chart
well-reasoned path to decision making in using
computers and the Internet?
What are the Major Issues
in Computer Ethics?

What are issues of Freedom of Expression on the Internet and
how should we analyze them?
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Defamation
Obscenity and pornography
Inappropriate material for children
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What privacy issues are presented by computers and the Internet?
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What are problems of Intellectual Property and Plagiarism with
computers and the Internet?

What are examples of Computer Crime and how should they be
analyzed?

What is the Technological “Divide”?
“The Constitution in Cyberspace:
Law and Liberty Beyond the Electronic Frontier”
Laurence H. Tribe
 What is Tribe’s Goal?
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mapping the text and structure of the Constitution
onto the texture and topology of cyberspace
What are Tribe’s Five axioms (assumptions)
shaping American constitutional law and how to
adapt them to cyberspace?
What is his proposal?
The Constitution protects people, not places
 Constitutional principles should not depend on
technological method or medium of information

“Free Speech in Cyberspace”
Richard A. Spinello

In what ways do free speech and content control present a
major moral problem of the Information Age?
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How should we address pornography in cyberspace?

What are the key statutes and court decisions concerning free
speech on the Internet?

What are the ethical issues presented by hate speech on the
Internet?
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Can anonymous speech be justified ethically?
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Should spam be protected as commercial free speech?
“Is it Moral to Make Copies
of Software for My Friends?”
Bernard Gert

Can illegally copying software be justified?
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Is the law is clearly unjust?
Is it morally justifiable to break morally acceptable
laws to benefit oneself or friends?
Is the law morally unacceptable?
Does ethical reasoning require an intimate
knowledge of the nature of software? Why/why
not?
“Cyberstalking, Personal Privacy,
and Moral Responsibility”
Herman T. Tavani and Frances S. Grodzinsky
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Cyberstalking: what is it and how does it differ
from ordinary stalking?
What privacy rights regarding Internet search
engines and public records do we have? What
rights should we have?
What moral obligations do all internet users
have to others who are being cyberstalked?