Ethical
dilemmas in the digital age
What’s the difference between ethical concerns
and legal issues?
What ethical guidelines could online journalists
follow?
Is it illegal to post explicit or derogatory material
or provide links to sites that provide such content?
How are states trying to restrict certain types of
material on the Internet?
Even if it’s not illegal to link to sites that
contain explicit or derogatory material, should you do so?
Should indecent or inflammatory content be filtered
out?
Should you link to a site that contains erroneous
information?
Do other countries regulate the Internet?
Where is a Web site published?
What about access to newsgroups that offer sexually
explicit material?
Can a Web site be held responsible if someone posts
a libelous comment?
How have the courts ruled in online libel cases?
What’s the No Electronic Theft Act?
What’s the safest bet with regard to Web links?
Could you be sued for providing a link to another Web
site?
Is it ethical to provide links to advertisers in
articles that discuss their products?
Should news sites allow company logos in news stories?
Should a book review include a direct link to an online
bookstore?
How do news and advertising sites use cookies?
What’s encryption?
What’s the legal battle over encryption?
Where can I find out more about ethical issues?
Try this quiz!
1. True or false? Although the CDA was overturned, several states
have passed legislation that restricts certain online material.
2. True or false? The United States is the only country that has
tried to regulate content on the Internet.
3. True or false? If the information gathered by cookies is offered
to a third party for direct mail or phone solicitation, the user should
be notified in advance.
4. What is encryption?
5. Give examples of two types of information that you would want
encrypted on the Internet.
6. The U.S. government has attempted to pass legislation to gain
access to encryption codes so that
a. the IRS can monitor all your financial
transactions on the Internet.
b. the FBI will have access to the codes.
c. no private companies will be able to sell
encryption software.
7. True or false? The U.S. government bans the export of encryption
software to other countries.
8. True or false? If an ISP controls the content of its bulletin
boards, it could be held liable for statements contained there.
9. True or false? Organizations that publish on the Internet could
be held responsible for libelous comments overseas that would be
thrown out of courts in the United States.
10. True or false? Courts in the United States have recognized that
links are a form of speech and thus are protected by the First Amendment.
As in all constitutional issues, these First Amendment rights must
be balanced with other issues, including copyright, unfair competition
and other laws.
11. Should a book review on your site include a link to an online
retailer offering the book for sale?
12. Should news sites run company logos in news stories?
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Gray areas that online journalists need to know
As a journalist, you may face thorny legal and ethical
decisions about material you want to publish online. Even if you have
the legal right to use certain information, is it ethically responsible
to do so? Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. The Internet
poses many new legal and ethical dilemmas for journalists, and the solutions
are often murky.
What’s the difference
between ethical concerns and legal issues?
Legal issues involve matters that
could lead to legal action in a civil or criminal court.
Ethical concerns refer to instances
where legally you may use certain information but should refrain
because of other factors. Examples include
• links to sites that contain porn
or hate messages
• links to sites that may contain unreliable information
• forums and message boards that may include profanity
or derogatory comments directed at a specific race, gender,
religion or sexual orientation
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What ethical guidelines
could online journalists follow?
Although many legal and ethical dilemmas are unique
to new media, the foundations of ethical reasoning still apply:
privacy, fairness and accuracy. The Poynter Institute for Media
Studies (http://www.poynter.org)
and the American Society of Newspaper Editors (http://www.asne.org)
suggest that journalists use the following guidelines to deal with
ethical dilemmas in online issues:
• Reliable content
Notify online users if material posted on a news Web site was
created elsewhere and may not have been edited or reviewed to
meet the site’s standard for reliability. When users leave
the site, warn them that they may be entering a site that doesn’t
embrace the same content reliability.
• Updated, accurate information
Keep data updated and accurate. Reveal the authorship, ownership,
scope, validity and limitations of the data posted to a news site.
• Linking
Clearly identify links as either editorial or commercial. Provide
warnings when offering links that might contain offensive language
or graphic images.
• Potentially offensive or harmful content
Encourage reporters, editors and other people representing diverse
cultures to discuss content that contains vulgar or harmful material,
such as racial, ethnic, cultural, religious, sexist or homophobic
stereotypes.
• Journalistic integrity and commercial pressures
Make sure the audience can distinguish clearly between editorial
content and advertising. Tracking technologies such as cookies
should be used responsibly so they don’t violate the reader’s
privacy. If user information is going to third parties for direct
mail or phone solicitation, notify the reader in advance.
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Is it illegal to post explicit
or derogatory material or provide links to sites that provide such content?
No. In 1996 the U.S. government passed the Communications
Decency Act (CDA) in an attempt to regulate indecent material
on the Internet. Portions of the act made it a criminal offense
to make obscene or indecent material available to people younger
than 18. But in a 7-2 decision the U.S. Supreme Court overturned
the CDA in 1997, ruling that the online censorship provisions violated
the First Amendment guarantee of free speech.
Although indecent material in print is protected under
the First Amendment, the Supreme Court ruling stated that the information
broadcast on radio and TV is subject to regulation because warnings
can’t adequately protect listeners from unexpected program content.
On the Internet, however, users must seek out information that might
be considered unacceptable by some.
How are states trying to restrict
certain types of material on the Internet?
Even though the CDA was overturned, several states
have created legislation that restricts certain online material.
• A Virginia law prohibits state employees from
using their computers at work to view sexually explicit material on
the Internet.
• Other states have tried to pass laws that restricted online
content, usually porn, to children or people younger than 17. In 1998
New Mexico passed a law banning Internet material that may be “harmful
to minors,” such as nudity and indecency.
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Even if it’s not illegal
to link to sites that contain explicit or derogatory material, should
you do so?
Such sites have a legal right to exist. The Anti-Defamation
League (ADL) (http://www.adl.org)
has issued several reports warning about the proliferation of high-tech
hate on the Internet.
If you were writing a story about the ADL’s
report that decries hate sites, would you be doing readers a service
by linking to those sites so they can determine for themselves whether
the messages constitute hate and danger? On the other hand, do you
want to contribute to spreading the messages of those sites?
Should indecent or inflammatory
content be filtered out?
Software products can filter out sexually explicit
or offensive material and other types of information that parents
might not want their children to see. Doing so, however, poses ethical
concerns. Who decides what’s pornographic or hateful?
Many free speech advocates believe filtering
devices are a form of censorship that violates the First
Amendment. In addition, the software filters may block sites that
provide valuable information. For example, software that searches
sites for the words “sex” or “breast” can
also block sites that provide valuable information about AIDS or
breast cancer.
Nevertheless, libraries in several states have installed
such software on computers that access the Internet. The American
Library Association (http://www.ala.org)
has denounced these actions, claiming that content on the Internet
has the same constitutional protections that apply to books on library
shelves.
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Should you link to a site
that contains erroneous information?
Arthur R. Butz, an electrical engineering prof at
Northwestern, posted a personal Web site espousing his view that
the Holocaust never happened. Officials of the Simon Wiesenthal
Center in Los Angeles protested that such a site was carried on
a university server. (The center, named after Nazi death camp survivor
Wiesenthal, is dedicated to remembering the Holocaust and fighting
bigotry and anti-Semitism.)
In a New York Times article, Northwestern’s
president described Butz’s theories as “idiotic”
and “monstrous,” but he supported academic freedom and
the professor’s right to express it on the university’s
server. The Times provided a link to Butz’s home page as well
as to the Wiesenthal Center Web site.
Although Butz doesn’t advocate eradication of
nonwhite groups, as do some other sites, his Holocaust revisionist
theories are just as odious to many people. Would you have provided
a link to his home page if you’d written the story about this
conflict?
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Do other countries regulate
the Internet?
A number of countries have enacted laws that regulate
the Internet. Germany, for example, passed a law stating that Internet
service providers (ISPs) could be prosecuted for offering illegal
content, such as porn or neo-Nazi propaganda, if they knowingly
carried the material and were reasonably able to prevent its distribution.
At least 20 other countries have some restrictions
on Internet use. Most restrict ISPs from carrying hate speech or
porn. Several countries regulate the providers rather than the sites.
• Singapore allows only a
few ISPs. They can’t carry sites containing anti-government
rhetoric.
• In China users must register with the
government.
• Saudi Arabia and Vietnam permit only
one government-controlled ISP.
Trying to regulate the Internet on a global basis is difficult
because a site banned in one country can easily be “mirrored”
in another country, meaning the site can be copied and posted elsewhere.
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Where is a Web site published?
In the United States, a Web article is published where
its directed audience is. In other countries, such as England and Australia,
a Web article is published where it is downloaded. At the moment, a
judgment from overseas isn’t enforceable because of our First
Amendment guarantees, but this is being examined by the American Legal
Institute. Some Americans sue overseas to circumvent our constitutional
guarantees.
What about access to newsgroups
that offer sexually explicit material?
Several universities, especially public, state-funded
ones, have been criticized for carrying Usenet newsgroups that offer
sexually explicit material. Unlike listservs, which are discussion forums
that require membership, Usenet groups are accessible to anyone who
wants to post or read messages so long as the university or other ISP
carries them on its servers.
The University of Oklahoma was targeted by an organization
in Oklahoma that claimed certain Usenet groups in an alt-sex category
violated state law by carrying pornographic material accessible
to people under age 18. The university initially restricted access
to about 100 of these groups. Concerned about the state law, the
university then decided to continue offering these newsgroup on
a separate server only for people over age 18 who were using them
for research or academic pursuits.
Bill Loving, a media law professor in the Oklahoma
journalism school, sued his university on the grounds that such
restrictions violated First Amendment rights. In 1997 he lost (Bill
Loving v. David Boring) when a lower state court ruled that “the
OU computer and services do not constitute a public forum.”
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Can a Web site be held responsible
if someone posts a libelous comment?
Libel is a published statement of
fact that is false and defamatory because it harms someone’s
reputation.
If an ISP originates any of the information posted
on its site, then it is considered the publisher and can be held
responsible for its content. Generally, however, an ISP hosts
information posted by users. In that case, an ISP is considered
a provider of information rather than a publisher—and would not
be held responsible for a libelous comment.
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How have the courts ruled in
online libel cases?
Matt Drudge, an online gossip columnist,
published rumors claiming a White House aide had covered up a
past of spousal abuse. The aide, Sidney Blumenthal, sued Drudge
and AOL for defamation. AOL was the ISP that posted “The
Drudge Report,” which contained the accusations. Drudge withdrew
the column the next day, but Blumenthal sued him anyway. The court
would not permit the suit against AOL, saying AOL was not responsible
because it had transmitted the information but not created
it. The case (Blumenthal
v. Drudge and America Online Inc.) was dismissed was eventually
settled out of court.
In the case of Zeran v. America Online Inc.,
Kenneth Zeran, a Seattle resident, received death threats after
someone posted messages with his phone number on AOL and falsely
claimed he was selling T-shirts with an offensive slogan about
victims of the 1995 bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma
City. Zeran informed AOL about the situation and was told the
posting would be removed. More ads appeared over the next few
days, all with his number. Zeran received abusive phone calls
every few minutes. Zeran sued AOL for what he claimed was defamatory
speech, but a U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in 1997 that
the online service wasn’t
responsible for the postings. Section 230 of the CDA prevents
courts from considering claims that put an ISP in the role of
a publisher.
In 1991 the ISP CompuServe carried
an online forum that published Rumorville, a newsletter about the
broadcast industry. Cubby Inc., which planned to produce a competing
newsletter, claimed it had been libeled in Rumorville. CompuServe
claimed it wasn’t responsible because it didn’t exercise
editorial control over the content of its forums. In Cubby
v. Compuserve, a New York state court agreed and dismissed the
case.
Unlike CompuServe, the ISP Prodigy marketed its service
as one that monitors its bulletin boards to prohibit offensive messages.
Stratton Oakmont, a securities investment firm, claimed that comments
made by an anonymous user on Prodigy’s Money Talk bulletin board
were defamatory. In Stratton Oakmont v. Prodigy, a
New York trial court ruled that Prodigy could be held liable because
it had actively screened and edited the content of messages posted
on its bulletin boards.
In 2006 the
California Supreme Court ruled that online publishers can’t
be sued for posting or distributing libelous material written by
others. "Plaintiffs
who contend they were defamed in an Internet posting may only seek
recovery from the original source of the statement," wrote
Justice Carol Corrigan. Bear in mind that people who make defamatory
statements on others’ sites
and blogs can be sued for libel, so this decision doesn’t encourage
online media to become a free-fire zone. This precedent applies
only to lawsuits filed in California, but that state’s Supreme
Court is considered highly influential on media law, so it may
carry weight around the country.
None of these cases reached the U.S. Supreme Court, so
the rulings aren’t binding. But these last two cases are considered
classic because they were the first of their kind. While some online
media sites monitor their bulletin boards, many take a hands-off approach
to deleting messages for fear they’ll be held liable because
they exercise editorial control.
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What’s the No Electronic
Theft Act?
The No Electronic Theft Act (1997)
makes it a criminal offense to infringe on copyrighted material,
including software and material on the Internet. The act provides
for imprisonment up to three years and fines of up to $250,000 for
copying materials, “including by electronic means.”
For making one or more copies of information worth at least $1,000
but less than $2,500, the penalties are imprisonment for up to a
year and a fine of up to $100,000. Copies of material worth more
than $2,500 could lead to higher penalties. Check out the U.S. Copyright
Office site (http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright).
The law targets software piracy but isn’t limited
to that. Software and entertainment companies supported the law because
they sought protection from electronic copying of their products. But
researchers protested, saying the law would make it a criminal offense
for them to post their own research on the Web if their materials were
published by a journal or other academic publication because they’d
be copying copyrighted material.
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Could you be sued for providing
a link to another Web site?
Possibly. Ticketmaster (http://www.ticketmaster.com)
sued Microsoft for linking to the ticket broker’s
site without permission. Microsoft’s Sidewalk Seattle (http://seattle.sidewalk.com),
a Web site listing local entertainment, linked to Ticketmaster’s
site so users could order tickets for concerts and events.
Ticketmaster
wasn’t as upset about the link as the way it
was offered. Instead of linking to Ticketmaster’s home page,
which contained the company’s most expensive advertisements,
Microsoft linked directly to inside pages where the tickets could
be purchased for the specific concerts promoted on Sidewalk Seattle.
That allowed readers to bypass the home page ads. As a partial
resolution, Ticketmaster blocked entry to its inside pages and
forced users to enter by its front door.
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What’s the safest bet
with regard to Web links?
In general, it’s best to provide links directly
to other Web sites so you don’t risk violating intellectual property
rights or upsetting their advertisers. Simply providing a link to another
Web site doesn’t violate copyright laws.
Is it ethical to provide
links to advertisers in articles that discuss their products?
There’s no clear-cut answer. If the ad and the
revenue it generates don’t influence the editorial content,
then hypothetically it would be OK to provide a link to the advertiser.
But be sure to consider the influence the link may have on readers
and whether that’ll influence their opinion regarding the
site’s editorial content. Ads in news stories must be clearly
defined as ads and must be distinct from news, but those ads have
to serve as links or advertisers won’t participate.
The pressure facing commercial news sites is the click-through
rate on ads. In other words, the advertiser determines how much
to pay for an ad by the number of people who click on it, taking
the viewer away from the news site and to the advertiser’s
site. Even worse for online journalists, advertisers want their
ads to use the best multimedia technology to attract the audience,
and this technology is time-consuming to build, slow to download
and distracting when it appears.
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Should news sites allow company
logos in news stories?
No. These are ads, plain and simple. Company logos
should not be in the body of any story.
Should a book review include
a direct link to an online bookstore?
When the New York Times provided direct links
from its online book reviews
to the Barnes & Noble Web site, it appeared to be a useful service.
But journalists have always been concerned about keeping advertising
separate from editorial content. Times editors didn’t think this
close-linked advertising arrangement on the Web compromised editorial
integrity. They maintained that their book reviews would continue to
be honest, and more are negative than are positive. But . . . the Times
was receiving money from B&N to post the ad and to link to the bookseller’s
site. It appears that the Times has dropped the B&N link.
The same issue applies to business stories about automobiles
with links to car dealerships, restaurant reviews with links to
restaurants and so forth. The close relationships are endless.
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How do news and advertising
sites use cookies?
Many news and advertising sites use cookies—internal
programs inserted in your browser by servers to identify you the
next time you access the site. Cookies track your movements and
report back to the cookie maker. Legally, Web sites have the option
to track users. Browsers such as Netscape and Internet Explorer
warn users about cookies and also offer the option of not being
tracked. In most cases, media sites use cookies to track preferences.
Unless a Web site requires registration, cookies can’t
recognize a user by name. Even so, many people are concerned about
invasion of privacy. Media sites usually limit the track to their
own sites, but it’s possible for a cookie to track a user
outside the site—and that’s what concerns many people.
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What’s encryption?
Another privacy issue involves encryption—the
ability to use data-scrambling codes to jumble text so it can be
understood only by authorized people. If you bank online or buy
something on the Internet and pay by credit card, you want the site
to encrypt the information you send so your credit card information
isn’t accessible to unauthorized people. Encryption offers
the user some degree of privacy. Some e-mail programs also offer
encryption codes that protect people’s privacy in sending
messages or documents via e-mail.
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What’s the legal battle
over encryption?
This involves the U.S. government’s attempt
to pass legislation allowing law enforcement agencies such as the
FBI to have access to encryption codes used by Internet companies.
U.S. officials have sought to impose a voluntary system whereby
software companies that produce encryption products would provide
law enforcement authorities decoding ability (a key recovery system).
The government says its purpose is to gain access to coded communications
of suspected criminal and terrorists.
But civil liberties groups like the ACLU (http://www.aclu.org)
are fighting such attempts. The ACLU claims that restrictions on cryptography
will curtail freedom of speech by denying users of computers, cell
phones and other devices the right to communicate privately. “In
fact, the ACLU believes that privacy, anonymity and security in the
digital world depend on encryption,” claims the ACLU Web site.
The U.S. government bans the export of encryption software
to other countries. If you access a U.S. Web site with encryption
software, you must fill out a form stating that you’re a U.S.
citizen before you can download the product.
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Where can I find out more about
ethical issues?
Best of the Web: Ethics http://botw.org/top/Society/Philosophy/Ethics/
A helpful resource for researching ethics on the Internet.
Electronic Frontier Foundation http://www.eff.org
A membership advocacy group that promotes freedom in the digital
age.
Ethics and the Internet 2.0 http://www.duke.edu/~wgrobin/ethics/
An overview of a course taught at Duke (“Pervasive Computing
in the Digital Age”), including a glossary, lecture notes
and links.
Legal Ethics on the Internet http://legalethics.com
The premier Web site for information on legal ethics, with links
to many other sites.
Internet Ethics http://members.aol.com/InternetEthics/
Basic guidelines for Web site use, along with an interactive Q&A
section regarding Internet ethics.
Internet Society http://info.isoc.org
A professional membership society that provides leadership for the
Internet community and addresses issues confronting the future of
the Internet.
Netiquette http://www.sitecrafters.com/support/netiquette.asp
A primer on ways to work ethically within the Usenet community.
Poynter Institute for Media Studies
http://www.poynter.org
Focus on independent journalism in the digital age.
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