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The Internet and Ethical Values © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION © Jones & BartlettCHAPTER Learning, 1 LLC © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION Light: © sakkmesterke/Shutterstock; Gavel: © Maksim Kabakou/Shutterstock Gavel: © sakkmesterke/Shutterstock; Light: The end [of ethics] is The Internet and action, not knowledge. © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC 1 NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTIONEthical Values NOT FOR SALE—Aristotle OR DISTRIBUTION © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC ManyNOT decadesFOR SALE have passedOR DISTRIBUTION since the fi rst communications wereNOT trans- FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION mitted over a fl edgling global network, which would later be called the Internet. At the time, few would have predicted the Internet’s explosive growth and persistent encroachment on our personal and professional © Jones & Bartlettlives. This Learning, radically decentralizedLLC network has been© Jones described & Bartlett in lofty Learning, LLC terms as empowering and democratizing. It has lived up to this ideal by NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION creating opportunity for many new voices with extraordinary reach. Although the claim that the Internet will revolutionize communica- tions may be hyperbole, there is no doubt that the Internet has the po- tential to magnify the power of the individual and fortify democratic © Jones & Bartlett Learning,processes. LLC © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTIONMany governments, however,NOT are clearly FOR threatenedSALE OR by DISTRIBUTION some of this decentralized power and they have sought to impose some centralized controls on this anarchic network. The United States has attempted to regulate speech through the ill-fated Communications Decency Act and to restrict the use of encryption technology through its key recovery scheme.© Jones More & draconianBartlett regulationsLearning, have LLC been imposed by countries© Jones like & Bartlett Learning, LLC Iran,NOT China, FOR and SALE Saudi OR Arabia. DISTRIBUTION The Net and its stakeholders haveNOT stead- FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION fastly resisted the imposition of such controls, and this has led to many of the tensions and controversies we consider throughout this text. Although the control of technology through law and regulation © Jones & Bartletthas often Learning, been a futile LLC effort, “correcting” technology© Jones &with Bartlett other Learning, LLC NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION 1 © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC. NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION. © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION 9781284082593_CH01_001-030.indd 1 13/11/15 4:50 PM © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION 2 Chapter 1 The Internet and Ethical Values © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC technology has been more effective. The regime of law has had a hard NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION time suppressing the dissemination of pornography on the Internet, but blocking software systems that filter out indecent material have been much more successful. This reflects the Net’s paradoxical nature— it empowers individuals and allows them to exercise their rights such © Jones & Bartlettas free speechLearning, more LLCvigorously, but it also makes© Jones possible & Bartletteffective Learning, LLC NOT FOR SALEtechnical OR controlsDISTRIBUTION that can undermine those rights.NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION Although the primary axis of discussion in this text is the ethical issues that surface on the Internet, we must devote attention to these related matters of cyber governance and public policy. Thus, we ex- © Jones & Bartlett Learning,plore LLCin some detail the tensions© Jonesbetween & the Bartlett radical Learning,empowerment LLC that the Net allows and the impulse to tame this technology through NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION laws and other mechanisms. Because this is a text about ethics, about acting well in this new realm of cyberspace, we begin by reviewing some basic concepts that will enrich our moral assessment of these issues. Hence, in this intro- ductory© Jones chapter & Bartlett our purpose Learning, is to provide LLC a concise overview© of Jones the & Bartlett Learning, LLC traditionalNOT FOR ethical SALE frameworks OR DISTRIBUTION that can guide our analysis of theNOT moral FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION dilemmas and social problems that arise in cyberspace. More important, we also elaborate here on the two underlying assumptions of this work: (1) the directive and architectonic role of moral ideals and principles in determining responsible behavior in cy- © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC berspace and (2) the capacity of free and responsible human beings NOT FOR SALEto exercise OR DISTRIBUTION some control over the forces of technologyNOT FOR (technological SALE OR DISTRIBUTION realism). Let us begin with the initial premise concerning the proper role of cyberethics. © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTIONCyberethics and theNOT “Law FOR of SALE the OR Horse” DISTRIBUTION An ethical norm such as the imperative to be truthful is just one exam- ple of a constraint on our behavior. In the real world, there are other constraints, including the laws of civil society or even the social pres- sures© Jones of the &communities Bartlett Learning, in which we LLC live and work. There are© many Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC forcesNOT atFOR work SALE limiting OR our DISTRIBUTION behavior, but where does ethics fit NOTin? FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION This same question can be posed about cyberspace, and to help us reflect on this question we turn to the framework of Larry Lessig. In his highly influential book, Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace, Lessig © Jones & Bartlettfirst describes Learning, the four LLC constraints that regulate© Jonesour behavior & Bartlett in real Learning, LLC NOT FOR SALEspace: OR law, DISTRIBUTION norms, the market, and code. NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION Laws, according to Lessig, are rules imposed by the government that are enforced through ex post sanctions. There is, for example, the © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC. NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION. © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION 9781284082593_CH01_001-030.indd 2 13/11/15 4:50 PM © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION Cyberethics and the “Law of the Horse” 3 © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC complicated IRS tax code, a set of laws that dictates how much taxes NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION we owe the federal government. If we break these laws, we can be sub- jected to fines or other penalties levied by the government. Thanks to law’s coercive pedagogy, those who get caught violating tax laws are usually quick to reform. © Jones & BartlettSocial Learning, norms, on theLLC other hand, are expressions© Jones of the &community. Bartlett Learning, LLC NOT FOR SALEMost ORcommunities DISTRIBUTION have a well-defined senseNOT of normalcy, FOR SALE which OR is DISTRIBUTION reflected in their norms or standards of behavior. Cigar smokers are not usually welcome at most community functions. There may be no laws against cigar smoking in a particular setting, but those who try to © Jones & Bartlett Learning,smoke LLC cigars will most likely be© stigmatized Jones & andBartlett ostracized Learning, by others. LLC When we deviate from these norms, we are behaving in a way that is NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION socially “abnormal.” The third regulative force is the market. The market regulates through the price it sets for goods and services or for labor. Unlike norms and laws, market forces are not an expression of a community and they are imposed© Jones immediately & Bartlett (not Learning, in ex post LLCfashion). Unless you hand over© Jones $2 & Bartlett Learning, LLC atNOT the local FOR Starbucks, SALE OR you DISTRIBUTION cannot walk away with a cup of theirNOT coffee. FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION The final modality of regulation is known as architecture. The world consists of many physical constraints on our behavior; some of these are natural (such as the Rocky Mountains), whereas others © Jones & Bartlettare human Learning, constructs LLC (such as buildings and bridges).© Jones A &room Bartlett with- Learning, LLC out windows imposes certain constraints because no one can see NOT FOR SALEoutside. OR OnceDISTRIBUTION again “ enforcement” is not ex NOTpost, FORbut at SALE the same OR DISTRIBUTION time, the constraint is imposed. Moreover, this architectural constraint is “self-enforcing”—it does not require the intermediation of an agent who makes an arrest or who chastises a member of the community. © Jones & Bartlett Learning,According LLC to Lessig, “the constraints © Jones of architecture & Bartlett are Learning, self-executing LLC 2 NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTIONin a way
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