F1 Moral and ethical issues GapFill

Everything that we do online is tracked and recorded somewhere. We call this our digital  checkhandfootprintpresence. This includes the websites you visit, the things you search for, and the clicks that you make on social media. While some of the data on its own might not seem too concerning, companies use cookies and other technologies to  servecombineunsortscour the data in order to build up a detailed profile, identifying your devices and serving you targeted advertisements.

As a result, policies over the collection and use of this data have been created. For example, you are usually asked to read a  useprivacypersonalspeedtest policy and cookie policy when using a website that sets out how and why you are being tracked, and how to turn off some of the tracking. Modern  ISPsweb browserslaptopsoperating systems also help by rejecting and blocking tracking components of websites.

Our use of technology has  unknownunforseenenvironmentalweather costs which include the mining of raw materials used to create the products, the  materialcapitalusageenergy costs of powering the devices and running data centres (which might use fossil fuels), and the eventual disposal and recycling of the product.

Not everyone has equal access to IT. In the UK, we are lucky that our relatively high incomes allow us to purchase lots of IT equipment for homes and businesses and most premises has access to a reasonably fast  RAMCPUbroadband Internetdial up connection – but still some rural areas have very slow access making business development harder. Some countries have very little access to electricity and IT equipment, but  data centresbroadbanddesktopssmartphones and other cheap equipment are allowing these countries to ‘leapfrog’ by gaining access to mobile networks, helping to improve their economies.

Sadly, we don’t always treat people online the same way as we would in  parksgardenspersoncyber space. Because we are often anonymous, we are more likely to say hurtful, rude or inappropriate things, spam or troll people, where we don’t see the consequences of our actions or attract much retaliation when posting in forums or the comments sections of news and videos. Therefore most of us follow an implied set of rules of online politeness called  moderationnetiquetteexcessetiquette, and online forums, groups and comments sections often have moderators – people or bots that read through the comments and remove the ones that break the ‘house rules’.

The spread of the Internet and cheap communications has resulted in a process called  chat botscommunicationglobilisationweb – free VOIP calls have replaced expensive long distance calls, while most websites and news outlets have an immediate global reach. New trends and ‘viral’ videos can take the world by storm, affecting pop culture and eroding national  identitiespressureanthemsaccess.

In most countries, people are allowed to voice their opinion as long as their view is legal and they are not encouraging people to break the law. This is called  policyhate speechcensorshipfree speech. This is not always permitted – in countries such as China, online messages are filtered. The Government also chooses what information has access to, and has blocked many ‘Western’ websites on a national level using a firewall. This is called  speechfree speechcensorshipopenness.

When you sign up to new services and sites, you are given a set of rules to read telling you want you can and can’t use the service for. When you sign up for an Internet connection, you will be given rules, for example that prohibit you from sharing malware or downloading illegal material. This is called  a freea widea cookiean acceptable use policy.