7 - Rights and computer ethics

Summary

Introduction

This chapter explores the philosophical theories that attempt to provide guidance when determining the best way to balance the rights of the individual user of Information and Computer Technologies (ICTs) with the legitimate public concerns of the societies impacted by these technologies. Imagine being sentenced to ten years in prison due to the contents of an email message your government disapproved of. This frightening possibility became reality for Shi Tao. In 2005, he composed an email from his office in China using a Yahoo account, which he then sent to a pro-democracy website in New York City. He attached to the email an article, which he wished to publish anonymously, on China's new policies regarding crackdowns on potential pro-democracy dissidents in China (MacKinnon 2008). When Chinese authorities became aware of the article they considered it a breach of state secrets and sought to find out the author. They eventually received crucial information about Shi Tao's identity from Yahoo's Asian business partners in Hong Kong (MacKinnon 2008). This evidence was then used to convict him in a Chinese court.

There are two ethical issues here: whether the Chinese government's actions in suppressing Shi Tao's free speech rights were ethically wrong; and how the ICTs used contributed to that situation. Regarding the first issue, many people outside of the Chinese government argue that there was a moral wrong perpetrated in this case, even if it did proceed from Chinese laws and regulations.