6 - Social issues in computer ethics

Summary

Introduction

Social issues in computer ethics are manifold. This chapter will concentrate on three of them: the question of intellectual property, issues related to digital divides, and issues arising out of employment and work. This choice can be justified by the prominence that all three of them enjoy in current computer ethics debates. Other possible issues, such as security (see Chapter 8), gender (see Chapter 9) or globalization (see Chapter 10), are discussed elsewhere in the book. All three of the topics developed in this chapter have in common that they are strongly influenced by economic or commercial considerations. They are, as a consequence, characterized by ethical issues arising from property, ownership, distribution and power, which will point the way to possible approaches to understand and address them.

Intellectual property

Intellectual property is a pervasive issue of ethical relevance that touches many aspects of modern societies. Questions include whether software or content can or should be owned, how they can be protected and how protection mechanisms can be enforced. On a day-to-day level, these questions raise numerous debates, which are played out in the media and courts of law but which are also heatedly discussed in classrooms, parliaments and pubs. The multitude of voices and sheer volume of debates often drown out the fact that, at the bottom of often very different discussions, there are important philosophical arguments.