Networks - Social & Ethical Issues

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