In cyberethics we talk much about the freedom of speech versus censorship. We have laws against some forms of speech such as threats, libel, and defamation of character. But we generally allow many others including pornography, violent video games, hate and racist content. Even revenge porn enjoys relative legal freedom. So a few ethical issues arise, including:

1. What additional laws should perhaps be considered?

2. To what lengths should we be attempting to enforce existing laws?

3. Where should engineers’ personal morals fall in supporting or combatting those practices that are legal?

The theory of “Rights Ethics” attempts to help us clarify — to recognize that humans are born with certain fundamental rights. So when does the harm outweigh the general benefit? I.e., when should people’s rights to free speech be infringed upon?

The Tech World seems to have made a significant pivot in this area. Facebook announced that it is going to begin enforcing its policies stronger that disallow threats on their pages. Further, they seem to have implied they will begin including hate speech in this censorship. PayPal released a statement on ensuring that “our services are not used to accept payments or donations for activities that promote hate, violence or racial intolerance.” And BuzzFeed reported that Apple Pay was pulling support from websites that sell Nazi and white supremacist merchandise.

While there is certainly much gray area for engineers’ personal morals in this area, Charlottesville seems to have solidified some of Silicon Valley’s cultural convictions. Perhaps our “common morality” has moved toward greater conviction in enforcement, along with possibly less support of maleficent speech?

)
Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade