Introduction
History of the internet
The Internet began in 1969 as an experiment of the United States Defence Department that resulted in the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPAnet). The network was meant for use by the US military use. However, the Internet evolved. The American academic society including the universities and research labs started using the innovation. Later, newsgroups and chat rooms evolved before the British scientist, Tim Berners-Lee, developed the World Wide Web in 1989. In 1993, the number of internet users increased dramatically to get the attention of the media and the public.
Nature of the Internet
The internet provides a range of services including the following:
- Electronic mail (E-mail) allows people to correspond almost instantaneously with anyone on the network.
- The Internet Relay Chat (IRC) feature allows people to communicate in chat in rooms either one on one or as groups.
- Newsgroups and blogs that enable people to publish articles, post comments, or upload pictures about various subjects.
- The World Wide Web consists of billions of sites.
Moreover, the internet is characterized by various types of activities such as:
- Communications that are made possible through e-mail as well as telephony which is supported by Internet Protocol (IP) networking.
- Supply of information through websites and databases which are characterized by open access and limited access respectively.
- Electronic commerce (E-commerce) such as business to customer (B2C) and business to business (B2B).
- E-Government so that Government departments are able to interact with citizens for various activities and transactions.
The nature and evolution of the Internet present some ethical problems most of which have been and are still subjects of debate.
Why the internet challenge us ethically: a perspective in consideration of other forms of communication media?
Ethics is defined as the “discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation,” “a theory or system of moral values” or “a set of moral principles or value” (Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary). Ethics can be based on natural law, educational experiences, parental and family influence, religious tenets, life experiences, and societal and cultural norms. The Internet as a communication media has been subject to debate in regards to ethical issues.
The internet, since its discovery, has continued to present various ethical challenges that are broadly defined. In referring to ethical challenges, therefore, this document raises the question of controls in ensuring that the use of the Internet is guided by moral principles. Thus, how would we deal with moral issues when it comes to the use of the internet? Who is responsible for ensuring ethical standards are observed? What are the acceptable morals and which are not, and by whom? These ethical issues form are greatly challenged by the nature of the internet.
The nature of the internet
The Internet is a network of several networks. It is a federation of computers that are loosely linked together. In this regard, the Internet does not offer only one kind of service but a myriad of services that are increasing tremendously with time (Swabey, 27). These services are characterized by distinct attributes some of which pose ethical questions. Thus, the ethics debate should take into account these dynamic differences, which are growing. In other words, an ethical issue about the use of the internet cannot be addressed by looking at one area and leaving the other and for one time only. For instance, how we address the use of chat rooms may not be equitable to how we address newsgroups, particularly where children are the subject matter; moreover, these innovations continue to change as time goes by.
The Technology used on the internet is responsible for the distributed nature of the internet (Berleur and Brunnstein, 16). This nature of the internet, which is enabled by the use of packet switching, and packet routing and rerouting along with innumerable nodes and networks, renders centralized control of this communication impracticable; though it may be desirable. Moreover, various innovations such as Completely Anonymous Email Client (CAeM) as well as software that enables concealment of the origin of information adds to the challenges of controlling the Internet. The ethical concern here is thus, information flows freely regardless of whether it is fit for the general public or the target audience or recipient. In simple terms, although the technology has some beneficial aspects, the technology involved limits us from addressing ethical issues without removing the benefits of the technology.
Of importance is the fact that the internet is ‘amorphous’ with no headquarters; that is there is no central place where information is transferred through. Therefore, information follows the path that is fitting at a particular time. This lack of a central node makes it impossible to censor information and data sent through the internet.
The Internet is characterized by several actors who have varying interests. For instance, the players my include companies such as Microsoft, Oracle, and Cisco whose role is to provide the infrastructure. Moreover, Microsoft has involvement in portal business, provides browsers among other interests. On another note, Internet Service Providers differ in the provision of their services where some may offer newsgroup, chat rooms, and voice services while others do not. In this regard, each organization represents its own interests, and as is usual in the corporate world, almost each and every player has measures to safeguard his or her interests. Therefore, attempts to debate the issues of ethics necessitates knowing who has the responsibility and control over the internet, and requires bringing together all these players for a common understanding; this would be a difficult task considering that these players are under different laws and jurisdictions.
The internet is a phenomenon that is applied globally and cuts across different legal, cultural, historical, and social backgrounds. Initially, the Internet was an American affair, especially, for the intellectual including the academic and military class; moreover, a large part of the users today are Americans. Therefore, most of the ethical discussions are greatly influenced by the United States values and culture despite the fact that the phenomenon is used globally. For instance, the United States is liberal and its constitution gives its citizens the freedom of expression, while lobbyists are hostile towards states’ controls and interventions. The use of the Internet has spread rapidly to include Europe, Asia, and South America as well as the rest of the world. In fact, the number of internet users is increasing each and every day. Again, the discussion about the internet content is not by a few intellectual but is universal, and it is not local but global. Therefore, it would be necessary to stimulate and structure this debate so as to come up with solutions that are urgent, practical, and focused. However, it is a difficult task that would not go without controversy among the different geographical and cultural backgrounds and orientations of the internet stakeholders.
The Internet an almost new concept that is developing in different aspects is still not understood very clearly. On the one hand, the proponents of the control of the internet do not fully understand the technical complexities associated with the Internet. For instance, these proponents including many politicians lack the knowledge of differentiation between websites, newsgroups, and emails. On the other hand, the service and infrastructure providers do not have sympathy and a wide understanding of the concerns of the internet users. Moreover, users’ complaints are dealt with within the interests of the organization involved in the dispute.
Transmission of information among different sites involves some ‘backbone” arrangements. That is, the site where the information originates may not be responsible for the cost of transferring that information. For Instance, emails sent to an organization may pass through a leased connection line but at the organization’s expense irrespective of its origin. In this regard, there are hidden charges to the internet users which also present the issues of responsibility and safety of the users’ information. This is in contrast to the telephone companies where each and every company involved incurs the charges accordingly. Considering this deep-rooted culture of the internet, this poses an ethical challenge because the control and regulation of information as well as ensuring the safety of users’ information and responsibility of the service providers becomes difficult.
Internet and regulation
Internet regulation is a subject of major debate. The question of whether it should be regulated or not is critical and it has both pros and cons in both sides of the case. Moreover, if the internet was to be regulated, the question of who should govern it given the fact that the internet is global arises, or should it be self-governing?
Initially, when the internet was a preserve for the few, the regulation would not have been necessary (Smith). This is because the information that was transferred through the network was subject to monitoring by the bodies concerned, in particular, the United States Department of defense. Moreover, the internet was only within the precinct of the United States government so self-regulation of the Internet would have been easier.
The opponents of regulation argue that regulation interferes with the freedom of speech and expression. One group is on the view that content rating, filtering, and blocking is a serious intrusion on free speech. The perception is that filtering and blocking have a great impact on the free circulation of ideas including the probable censorship by the third parties; the opponents of regulation propose user empowerment. On the other hand, there are proponents of internet regulation and the Communication Decency Act who feel that Internet regulation would yield more benefits than unregulated Internet.
The proposition to regulate the Internet is illuminated by several concerns. For instance, the obliging interests to safeguard minors outshine the argument of infringement on the adult users’ rights (Cable News Network). Furthermore, the harm principle shows that it is rational to restrict adult’s liberty on the internet for the sake of children’s protection against harmful materials (Cable News Network).
Internet regulation advocates also assert that the use of technology such as filtering, rating, and blocking systems is not sufficient in protecting the users. Some materials that would be offensive to the end-user, especially children, could pass through despite these technological innovations. Therefore, because technological approaches are not adequate to protect the public, content regulation would be necessary and more reliable.
Certain regulations of the Internet are certainly essential to safeguard the rights of people and to avert the distribution of sectarian or racial hatred through this medium.
Moreover, the evolution and expansion of the internet into a worldwide phenomenon and a medium of mass communication have sparked authorities into rethinking the issue of internet regulation. Some countries have begun to see the use of the Internet by the public as an impending danger because it is not easy to control it or because the use of encryption systems limits their secret agency in monitoring suspicious communication through the Internet.
Internet governance
The definition of the term Internet governance should include aspects that make regulation of the Internet a practical idea. Firstly, the internet can be self-governing which means the players and users are involved in both its operation and regulation; the governments have no involvement in its regulation. In this case, the market force and self-policing become the major factors that ensure that the media operates properly and within the accepted ethical standards.
At the start, it was thought that the governments should not get involved in the governance of the internet; thus, self-regulation and market forces would emerge to create the order as well as impose standards of conduct. Nonetheless, this notion has shown to be insufficient because the Internet has evolved into a mainstream communication media. Therefore, dependence on self-governance and the market forces has not succeeded in tackling the significant interests and plight of the general Internet consumers such as diverse contents accessibility, protection of privacy, security other ethical concerns. As the number of Internet users keeps on increasing globally the demand for safeguarding the consumer and public interests keeps on increasing. In this regard, it would be necessary to regulate the Internet where the focus should be on how it would be governed and who should be responsible for its governance.
The government should have a hand in its governance with institutions and organizations coming into supports of the governments in complementary roles. This is because the governments are final bodies charged with safeguarding the interests of the public. Private organizations including credible institutions should also be involved in complimenting this role.
Conclusion
Challenges of addressing Internet ethics are a reality. It is a concern that must involve different stakeholders and on a global scale (Scanlon). Although it is difficult in coming up with a solution to the issues of Internet ethics, the debate of these issues has highlighted various aspects that would be useful in contemplating regulation of the Internet.
Internet regulation is a topic under controversy. While some group view regulations of the Internet as an infringement on human rights other argue that protection of the user, outweigh that freedom. Moreover, the question of who should ensure these regulations arises. Government involvement, therefore, becomes inevitable for the sake of the users.
Governance by the authority and institutionalized bodies is considered reliable over self-governance of the Internet where technological approaches and market forces are the controlling factors.
Work cited
Berleur. J., Brunnstein, K. Ethics of Computing: Codes, Spaces for Discussions and Law. New York: Kluwer Academic Publishers. 1996.
Cable News Network. The case for the Communications Decency Act.” Cable News Network.” 1998. Web.
Scanlon, T. M. What We Owe to Each Other. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press. 1998.
Smith, G. Internet Law and Regulation. 3rd (edn). United Kingdom: Sweet and Maxwell. 2001.
Swabey, W. E. Ethical Theories: From Hobbes to Kant. New York: MCMLXII. 1962.
Weitzner, Daniel J., Centre for Democracy and Technology. Blocking and Filtering Content on the Internet after the CDA. 1997. Web.