Cyberethics, 6th Edition

CHAPTER 1

The Internet and Ethical Values

The end [of ethics] is action, not knowledge.

—Aristotle¹

Many decades have passed since the first communications were transmitted over a fledgling global network, which would later be called the Internet. At the time, few would have predicted the Internet’s explosive growth and persistent encroachment on our personal and professional lives. This radically decentralized network has been described in lofty terms as empowering and democratizing. It has lived up to this ideal by creating opportunity for many new voices with extraordinary reach. Although the claim that the Internet will revolutionize communications ...