DIGITAL ETHICS AND DIGITAL ETHICS AND IDENTITYIDENTITY

Dr Natasha WhitemanDepartment of Media and CommunicationUniversity of Leicesternew9@le.ac.uk

“Learning to use new information technologies (ICTs) such as computers is considered to be a fundamental aspect – even an obligation – of citizenship and employment in contemporary society.” (Selwyn, 2005, 122)

The Internet and Ethical UncertaintyThe Internet and Ethical Uncertainty

• Internet users enter into complex, ethically charged environments.

• Some areas of concern:• Identity and deception• Property, ‘piracy,’ and plagiarism• Privacy • Respect• ‘Cheating’

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• To what extent are ethical principles established in relation to offline environments relevant to participation in online settings?

• What is the role/responsibility of individuals in these new environments?

• What is the status of content sourced from these settings?

Key ChallengesKey Challenges

• Variance between digital environments in respect of:– the public/private distinction– modes of communication– visibility of participation– durability of content – sensitivity of topic and content– expectations of use and audience

• Complexity of individual environments

Mixed messages…Mixed messages…

• Society sends off “ambivalent signals about downloading pirated material […] Even if copying is wrong, it’s not seen as a serious offence.” (Spinello, 2005, 35)– Jack Valenti (Motion Picture Association of America) on

“file-stealers” “assaulting” movie industry, “infestation of p2p”

– “It's the democratisation of music in a way. And music is a gift. That's what it should be, a gift.” (Shakira)

– file-sharing involves skills that are important to the culture of teenagers (Livingstone and Bober, 2003).

Spinello, Richard A (2005) “Beyond Copyright: A Moral Investigation of Intellectual Property Protection in Cyberspace” in Robert J. Cavalier (ed) The Impact of the Internet on our Moral Lives pp 27-48.

Against this backdrop…Against this backdrop…

• Rather than searching for ‘rights’ and ‘wrongs…’• … need to encourage:

– Reflexivity– Flexibility– Awareness of context

• Four key points of reference.

‘‘Personal’ ethicsPersonal’ ethics

• How do our personal commitments, affiliations and values inform our use of digital technologies?

• Exploring a sense of personalised morality

• Example: Conversations with media students regarding ethics of consumption vs. production.

Ethics of ‘peer community’Ethics of ‘peer community’

•In what ways are our uses of digital technologies shaped by our peers?

– real: friends, colleagues, family etc.– and imagined: eg. other internet users,

‘filesharers.’

•What responsibilities do we have to our peers?

Institutional EthicsInstitutional Ethics

• How are our uses of digital technologies shaped by institutional frameworks?

• For example: – Ethical discourses of regulators and employers.– Professional Codes of Conduct.– Legal frameworks (eg 2010 UK Digital Economy

Act).

The ethics of the settingThe ethics of the setting

• To what extent should our actions be informed by the ethics of online environments?

• For example:– Formal codes of practice (for example Facebook’s

Statement of Rights and Responsibilities)– Negotiation of ethics by Internet users within day-

to-day interactions.

Personal ethics

Ethics of Peer community

Institutional Ethics

Ethics of the setting

new9@le.ac.uk