The Ethics of Cyberspace

by Cees J Hamelink

• ISBN13: 9780761966685
• ISBN10: 0761966684
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-02-27
• Publisher: Sage Publications Ltd

Summary

In this book, Cees J Hamelink proposes an answer to - how should democratic societies organize cyberspace? - that puts human-rights, rather than profit, at the top of the agenda. He argues that conventional ethical approaches are all seriously flawed. There is a growing volume of moral rules, netiquettes and codes of conduct, but they are of little help in solving the moral dilemmas raised by the new technologies. In this book the author analyzes the inadeqacies of current global governance policies and structures that underpin them, and argues for standards which put justice, human security and freedom first.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Prometheus in CyberSpace	1	(31)
Moral choice	1	(1)
Duty-based approaches to moral choice	2	(1)
Effects-based approaches to moral choice	3	(2)
Ethical dialogue	5	(1)
Technology and ethical dialogue	6	(3)
CyberSpace	9	(1)
Information and communication technologies: features	10	(4)
Information and communication technologies: importance	14	(2)
Obstacles in CyberSpace	16	(1)
Information and communication technologies: impact	17	(5)
Information and communication technologies: boom versus doom	22	(1)
The technological revolution	23	(1)
The social transformation	24	(8)
Morality in CyberSpace	32	(23)
Old issues and new issues	32	(2)
Old issues, new dimensions	34	(1)
New issues: challenges to a human-centric morality?	35	(3)
Personal morality	38	(4)
Professional morality	42	(7)
Corporate morality	49	(3)
Social morality	52	(3)
The Decent Society and CyberSpace	55	(24)
The foundation of morality	55	(4)
Human rights	59	(4)
Technology and human rights	63	(1)
Problems with human rights	64	(12)
The claim to universalism	64	(1)
Individualism	65	(1)
Enlightenment	65	(1)
The inadequate enforcement	66	(3)
Horizontal effect	69	(1)
Political interests	69	(1)
Finances	70	(1)
The `new world order'	71	(1)
Human rights and the market	72	(2)
The social contract and self-interest	74	(2)
Good global governance	76	(3)
Equal Entitlement in CyberSpace	79	(28)
The global digital divide	81	(2)
Gender	83	(1)
Universal access: historical development	84	(1)
Definition of universal access	85	(2)
Income inequalities	87	(1)
Do people want universal access?	88	(1)
What information should be accessible?	89	(1)
Distribution of information capital	90	(1)
The issue of sustainability	91	(1)
Solutions	92	(2)
Development support	94	(1)
The account rate settlement system	95	(2)
Free access to the Internet	97	(1)
The bit tax	98	(1)
Access and equality	98	(1)
Global governance	99	(6)
Conclusion	105	(2)
Digital Risks and Security in CyberSpace	107	(32)
Risks to physical security	107	(1)
Software failures	108	(2)
Why is software unreliable?	110	(2)
Software and its users	112	(2)
Digital sabotage and cyberwar	114	(2)
Electromagnetic interference	116	(1)
Ignoring alarm signals: the real problem!	117	(2)
The Millennium Bug	119	(3)
Coping with uncertainty	122	(3)
Risks to information security	125	(9)
Conclusion	134	(5)
Free Speech and Knowledge in CyberSpace	139	(26)
Free speech	139	(1)
Censorship in CyberSpace	139	(6)
Censorship by the users	145	(1)
Who owns the Internet?	145	(1)
The global online marketplace	146	(4)
Competition, concentration and consumers	150	(3)
The right to knowledge	153	(2)
Global governance	155	(2)
Piracy	157	(1)
Controversy	157	(8)
The Democratization of Technology Choice	165	(21)
Democratic participation	165	(2)
Public accountability	167	(1)
Shifts in global governance institutions	168	(3)
Citizens and consumers	171	(1)
Obstacles to good global governance	172	(2)
Prospects for change	174	(2)
Participation	176	(2)
Voices 21	178	(4)
Socratic education	182	(4)
Bibliography	186	(17)
Index	203