1. Discussion Minimum 350 Words
1) What is meant by the term "Cyberethics and Cyberlaw" in relation to the Internet? Which groups of people are most negatively affected by the Cyberethics and Cyberlaw, and why? What are some of the consequences of the Cyberethics and Cyberlawtoboth individuals and society?
2) Provide the URL of at least two sites that discuss the impact of the Internet on any one of the concepts discussed this week and provide a brief review of the information contained there. Did you learn anything new? Were you surprised by any of the information presented on the site?
2. Respond to discussion minimum 150 words
Class,
Cyberethics are basically acceptable behaviors done on the internet. Just like there are ethics for what we do and do not do when interacting with people in real life, there are ethics online as well. Microsoft has laid them out very plainly on their site. They are basically a list of do's and do not's. The basics are pretty simple. You should use the internet to communicate with other people. You should use the internet to conduct research and to learn. You should use it to watch movies, listen to music and play games.
Also, use it for social networking and to help build business networks. On the other side of the do's, the do not's should be fairly obvious as well. Keep your information private, and share it only with those you trust. You shouldn't download copyrighted materials. Finally, do not participate in cyberbullying, and report it when you witness it (Practice cyberethics, n.d.).
Cyberlaw are laws that are put in place to protect assets and people on the internet. More specifically, it includes intellectual properties such as inventions, literature, music and businesses. Copyrights, patents, trade secrets, privacy, trademarks, defamation, and data retention all have to do with cyberlaw (Cyber Law, n.d.).
I think a large portion of those affected today are those that have to endure cyberbullying. My daughter is almost 14, and I hope she does not have to endure it. Another issue is copyright infringement. Stealing someone else's work is the wrong thing to do, but many people do it. Whether it is for profit or for personal use, it is still illegal.
I found an article about cyberbullying I found interesting. In it, it relates that nearly 50 percent of teens have experienced cyberbullying and that only 1 in 3 teens tell their parents about it (Scheff, 2017). This concerns me as I mentioned I have a daughter who may be experiencing this right now and I may not know about it.
The second I found was about torrenting. In the article, it weighs the difference between the good and bad of torrents. Unfortunately, the bad seems to outweigh the good. The good is used to distribute copies of linux, copyright free independent movies, and to share files easily (Woodward, 2016). What I found interesting was there are good reasons to torrent. Everyone who has heard of torrents may liken them to illegally obtaining media and maybe even getting viruses.
References
Cyber Law: Everything You Need to Know. (n.d.).
Practice cyberethics. (n.d.)
Scheff, S. (2017). The Impact of Cyberbullying on Young Lives.
Woodward, M. (2016). Torrents: The good, the bad, and the ugly.
3. Respond to discussion minimum 150 words
What is meant by the term "Cyberethics and Cyberlaw" in relation to the Internet? Which groups of people are most negatively affected by the Cyberethics and Cyberlaw, and why? What are some of the consequences of the Cyberethics and Cyberlaw to both individuals and society?
Well, we should all know what ethics are or at least have a general idea. It's simply a standard of how we should treat one another. Cyberethics is similar in that it is a standard of how the internet should be used. Some suggestions from Microsoft on Cyberethics on how we should use the internet are research, communication, consuming content such as videos and music, shopping and other personal tasks such as paying bills and online banking, and business-related functions. Some things we should not do are cyberbully, encourage cyberbullies, share or use copyrighted material without giving credit to the creator, and not share personal information.
As you can see, this is simply a set of rules that we should abide by, but people do not always do so. I could not find any definitive information regarding which groups of people are most negatively affected by Cyberethics and cyberlaw. In my opinion, the people negatively affected are those that abide by them. My reasoning is that not following the ‘rules' doesn't stop most cybercrimes due to the anonymity the internet provides.
Also, when they are caught we are using antiquated laws to prosecute which don't really deter cybercrime. The heaviest penalties for cybercrimes are those carried out against governments. There are consequences regarding Cyberethics and cyberlaw. The article written by Dan Lohrmann that I referenced provides some excellent examples. As an example, plagiarism is a great example. The student doesn't truly learn, they have stolen someone else's ideas, and this reflects their lack of integrity. This can also affect the school's academic integrity, students are not earning their degrees, and the more of this that is allowed there will be label of mistrust placed on the school.
Provide the URL of at least two sites that discuss the impact of the Internet on any one of the concepts discussed this week and provide a brief review of the information contained there. Did you learn anything new? Were you surprised by any of the information presented on the site?
Each of the articles below discusses cyberethics to some degree. I think cyberethics is important because it defines how we should conduct ourselves on the internet, while there isn't a way to enforce it, there is still a positive for practicing ethics online. The same can be said for understanding ethics in everyday life. Most of the world's population will abide, but there are always people with no moral compass that will exploit those that are following the rules.
The article by Lohrmann provided a lot of insight and made me actually think about how cyberethics affects everyone and how profound the impact can be. There were a few things on the Microsoft page that I had not ever given much thought, which is not being a cyberbully. Doing so has not once ever crossed my mind, but I did go through a ‘trolling' phase when I was younger.
References
Lohrmann, D. (2012, September 23). Online Checkup: Why Cyberethics Matter More Than You Think.
Practice cyberethics. (n.d.).