Networks - Social & Ethical Issues
From WLCS
Contents
Directions
Below is a list of social and ethical issues concerning networks (LANs and WANs). As a class, we will build the list, and you may contribute to the list individually too.
Reliability
- being disconnected from others
Integrity
- hackers changing messages
Security
- packet sniffing credit card numbers
Privacy and anonymity
- information over a network should still be kept private
Authenticity
- message received is truly sent by the original who sent it
Intellectual property
- peer-to-peer networks are commonly used to share files; some files may be infringing on copyright, such as music (mp3s)
Equality of access
- access to the Internet in remote, rural locations
Control
- bandwidth throttling
- content management and filtering
Globalization and cultural diversity
- is there a global culture on the Internet that transcends country borders?
Policies and standards
- appropriate usage of the Internet at work
People and machines
- setting up networks