Article: Ethics across national borders
Manuel Diaz, Information Age
23/10/2007
1. Identify and describe the ethical issue.
Diaz raises a number of moral, legal and social issues involving cybertechnology; in particular the internet ("Experts meet to promote cybersecurity and fight cybercrime," 2007). The internet, and access to it, has developed so that it is now considered a mainstream medium, not merely an alternative (Berinato, 2008). Society now relies heavily on the internet for information exchange (e-banking, e-payment, e-passport etc) creating an e-culture, where users are increasingly willing to disclose personal information and criminals are willing to exploit it (Nkanga, 2008). The ethical question lies in how to control and monitor the internet (internet regulation) without damaging its principle design innovation – its openness (Wall, 2004).
The threat of cybercrime is dynamic and fast moving (Speer, 2000). Conversely, development of legislation to combat cybercrime is slow and lacks predictability (Kesan & Gallo, 2006), resulting in loopholes that are exploited by criminals creating what Moor describes as a “policy vacuum” (Tavani, 2007, p. 10).
There is growing consensus between governments, private industry and law enforcement agencies that a global legal framework is required. However, in developing ‘one size fits all’ legislation, many ethical considerations arise, such as determining how to enforce it, and defining the boundaries of jurisdiction.
Whilst some argue cyber-police, cyber-courts and cyber-judges are the answer, others argue that law in isolation will not stop cybercrime ("Cyber-courts needed," 2001). Greenleaf’s ‘digital realist’ case states that neither law nor techno ...