Complete three of the Ethics and Issues presented below, by writing a paragraph of seven to ten sentences explaining your view to support or denounce the issue discussed. Print your summaries and bring them to class on 10/17/2018.
E&I 2-1:Should Cybersquatters Be Prosecuted?
You learn from a registrar that a domain name containing your company name is not available. When you enter the web address in a browser, a webpage appears that contains ads, false content, or a notice that the domain is available for purchase, likely by a cybersquatter. Cybersquatters purchase unused or lapsed domain names so that they can profit from selling them. Cybersquatters sometimes will sell you the domain name, but some take advantage of people trying to reach a more popular website to promote their own business or needs. One example is when a politician registered several domain names that included his opponent’s names and redirected them to his own campaign website.
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Website owners periodically must renew domain names. Cybersquatters look for out-of-date registrations and buy them so that the original website owner must buy them back. Cybersquatters often purchase domain names with common words, alternate spellings of trademarked terms, or celebrity names. With the constant increase of new TLDs, cybersquatting cases are on the rise. Experts recommend purchasing your domain name with as many TLDs as you can afford, as well as to register your own name and that of your children.
More than 15 years ago, lawmakers enacted the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA). The ACPA’s goal is to protect trademark owners from having to pay a cybersquatter for a domain name that includes their trademark. To win a case against a cybersquatter, the owners must prove that the cybersquatters acted in bad faith, meaning they tried knowingly to profit from purchasing a domain name with a trademarked term, or a common misspelling or nickname of a trademarked term. Critics say that the ACPA prohibits free speech and free market.
- Consider This: Should cybersquatting be illegal? Why or why not? Is it ethical to profit from cybersquatting? Why or why not? How should companies protect their brands when registering for domain names?
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E&I 2-2:Should Apps Be Allowed to Track Your Location?
When you install an app on your smartphone, you unintentionally may be allowing the app to send personal data. Apps can transmit your location, as well as the time you spend using the app. Apps also can collect personal information, including gender and birth year, if you access the app through an online social network profile. Although apps often present an option to review their security policies, some track user data without permission, or require you to enable tracking before you can use the app. You may see the results of tracking in the ads you see when browsing the web or using an app. Other apps may track your location without your knowledge, such as apps that parents use to pinpoint a child’s whereabouts.
If you search for driving directions, coupons, or restaurant tips based on your current location or past activities, you might be using apps that openly use this type of tracking. For example, a check-in app posts your location to online social networks, and another app enables you to locate friends by tracking their Bluetooth signals. Even when you opt to share data, use of these types of apps is not without risk. When people use location-tracking apps, for instance, they run the risk of someone stalking or robbing them. One positive use of location-tracking apps is with emergency services. Lawmakers have struggled with whether law enforcement officials can use location-tracking without a user’s knowledge. The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that police must get a warrant before searching a user’s phone or reading text messages.
- Consider This:Should app makers be able to require you to enable tracking or track your activity without your knowledge? Why or why not? Should the police be able to track GPS data without warrants? Why or why not? Would you use apps that post your location to your online social network profile or otherwise alert others of your whereabouts? Why or why not?
E&I 2-3:Is It Ethical to Use a Fake Name or ID on a Website?
You are signing up for an account on an online social network, an online dating website, or a news website that enables you to post comments. Should you use your real name?
Many argue that it is harmless to protect your anonymity by using a fake name but believe that it is not right to create a fake profile to mislead others or leave malicious comments on a website. The latter has become so prevalent that terms have emerged to describe this behavior. For example, catfishing is when someone creates a fake online social network or online dating profile and forms relationships with unsuspecting users. A troll is a user who posts negative, inflammatory comments on a blog post or article with the intent of inciting other users.
One website creates very thorough, but completely fake, personas, which include email addresses, Social Security numbers, phone numbers, and more. Although law enforcement has raised concerns over the potential misuses of fake profiles, it technically is legal, even though the names and personas are not real. Legitimate uses for fake name generators include testers of large databases, such as ones for hospitals.
Facebook currently requires members to use their real names. Twitter’s policy is that anyone can create a fake account, but it has a verification process to identify the official account of a celebrity or public figure. Most fake Twitter accounts are harmless, and often are flattering. Although some argue that creating a fake account constitutes identity theft, unless the intent is to harm or embarrass the real person, it is not unethical or illegal. When a journalist created a fake account for a politician and posted discriminatory quotes and Tweets in the politician’s name, many considered it an ethics violation, because journalists are supposed to report the truth.
- Consider This:Is it ever acceptable to use a fake name online? Why or why not? Is it unethical to create fake personas for others to use? Why or why not? Should websites require you to use a real name, or have a verification process? Why or why not?
E&I 2-4:Who Is Responsible for Monitoring Cyberbullying?
Sending or forwarding threatening text messages, posting embarrassing or altered pictures of someone without his or her permission, or setting up a fake online social network page where others make cruel comments and spread rumors about someone all are examples of cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is harassment using technology, often involving teens and preteens. Unlike verbal bullying, the perpetrators can hide behind the anonymity of the Internet and can reach a wide audience quickly. Victims cannot just walk away or ignore bullying that comes in the form of text messages, email, or online social network posts.
Cyberbullying often takes place outside of school hours on personal devices or computers not owned or monitored by a school. Yet the ramifications affect the victim at school. Schools struggle to come up with policies. Many schools are adopting policies that include consequences for any form of student-to-student bullying, even using nonschool resources, if it contributes to a hostile environment for any student or group of students. Some schools specify that students who retaliate against anyone who reports instances of bullying or cyberbullying will receive punishment.
Anti-bullying laws vary from state to state and often do not include specific language about cyberbullying. One argument against criminalizing cyberbullying is the protection of free speech. Awareness campaigns, school policies, and parent monitoring of technology use are some ways to attempt to prevent cyberbullying. These methods are not always effective. The impact on the victim can lead to poor grades, health issues, mental health concerns, and even suicide.
- Consider This:Should schools be responsible for punishing students who cyberbully other students outside of school? Why or why not? What role can parents play in reducing cyberbullying? What are the positive and negative aspects of the freedom to be anonymous on the Internet?
