MORALITY in the Age of the Net
How do we resolve different conceptions of morality?
Each of us may have a different conception of what is “right” or “wrong” in regards to the Internet. From pornography to hate speech to the sale of human organs, it seems that almost anything can happen over the Internet. How much of this “questionable material” is out there and how easy it is to access is subject to much debate.
§ Individual users:
From hate speech to pornography to bomb-making kits, filters can protect children from what their parents do not want them to see. And it is not simply a matter of personal preference; pornography can have serious consequences.
In support of Filters |
In Opposition to Filters |
Do we want this type of censorship? |
|
How have Notre Dame students and parents navigated the issue of Internet censorship on home
computers?
Here are survey results on their use of filters and other methods.
§ Internet service providers:
Here is the AOL policy for proper behavior. But does it censor too much?
§ Net communities:
Some users of the Internet prefer a form of social control instead of governmental regulation—that is, sites posting “decent” material will be accepted into a particular net community, and then advertise the other sites (see the Blue Ribbon Campaign). Some argue that government-imposed regulation will never protect us fully; a better solution is to educate yourself against the dangers of the Internet.
§ Academic communities:
What we can and can’t do at ND: The official document titled “Responsible Use of Information Technologies at Notre Dame.”
Tom Monaghan, Director of Web Administration at the ND Office of Information Technologies, relates the following:
"Currently the University does not maintain any sort of editorial-based filtering
in regards to Web site access. With
the new email service upgrade, there are some spam-filtering tools in place, but
they are really meant to keep all of the junk mail out of the system (it can
clog up the traffic).
The cases that Notre Dame will intervene is if there
are security-related events, virus proliferations, notice of copyright infringement, or if an inordinate
amount of IT resources are being used, for example if a student is using 20% of
the total bandwidth for the campus. In
those cases, the OIT investigates and passes the incident on to the appropriate
body (Student Affairs for students, Human Resources for staff, Provost for