Abstract
Since the inception of the Internet in the late 1960´s, technological advances in the field of Information Communications Technology (ICT) have created an ever-expanding digital arena for the development of human innovation, education, expression, communication and interaction. However, the creation and use of this vast network of knowledge, whether it is for educational, commercial, entertainment or creative purposes, has also produced its own set of ethical challenges. This paper discusses the ethical implications associated with the topics of veracity, identity and ownership and the impact of these fundamental ethical issues on human behaviour in emerging digital technologies.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Intellectual Property: The production of some original work or thought which by legal right is recognized as having been produced by or owned by some individual or organization.
Musical piracy: A specific form of ripping where copy protected music files are copied without financial or intellectual attribution of the ownership.
Ripping: The process of taking a sound or movie file and removing the protection against copying so it can be freely used in a digital environment.
Digital Predator: A person or group of persons who actively seek to abuse other people with a weaker status within digital environments. This can be for financial or sexual purposes.
Digital Identity: The persona, name or identity which some person or organization creates and uses in a digital environment.
Phising: The use of misinformation and deception to lure an individual to give private or privileged information. The most common application of this phrase is to pretend to be a bank or other trusted organization and seek to obtain financial details.
Misinformation: The process of adding, editing or creating incorrect or misleading information on to a digital information source in a digital environment. This can be a web site, an email, a podcast or a streaming video.