Chapter 5 - Ethics Dilemma

Let us suppose that you are employed by a company that develops website for clients. One day your boss presents you with new project. In brief, your company has obtained a contract from a law enforcement agency to develop several websites. These are to act in line with the ‘honeypot’ scenario mentioned in the previous chapter. The project being undertaken by the law enforcement agency is to gather information in relation to individuals who may be ‘interested’ in extreme forms of violence. By developing this website you will be assisting the law enforcement agencies who will gather material in relation to people who peruse the site.

What is your ethical position? 

We could say that we are in the ethical position. As a website developer handling a serious case of project with regards to the law enforcement agencies we are not going to do some violation. Being part of law enforcement team is a big help to our company in gathering accurate information needed in developing the website. It can also help us to enhance our security measures in the websites we are developing. It can be consider as unethical position if we will steal the information we need to develop the website.

Do you think this is an appropriate agenda in terms of invisibility policing the internet?

We take it as a good and appropriate agenda to prevent the criminals from attacking via the internet.

Since your boss has presented you with this brief, in the case that you do not agree with the ramifications of policing the internet in this way, do you have any practical alternative but to undertake the work?

It seemed to be very serious and complicated because it might take us to court hearings. We’ll tell our boss that it may cause a serious case if we’ll take the project.

(Here we assume that your boss is insistent that the work should be carried out by you.) What – if any – real objections do you have?

If the project will help developers and companies to make their websites protected and to detain cyber criminals, then we’ll take the project.

Do you feel this is encroaching upon the liberty of the individual? 

This is a good opportunity to take over; this is an invisible programming, though. It will give us a better understanding what hacking is, and how many people are interested in violence.

Are your views influenced by the nature of the content of the website?

Definitely yes, it gives us a clear view how criminals attack and it gives us the feeling of being superhuman saving the victims against violence.

For example, would your views be any different if the website related directly to terrorism or other forms of political extremism? 

Yes, our views would be completely different if the website is design for the propagation of violence. It is against the humankind and is totally unethical.

To what extent do you think that the internet is currently being policed – not only in terms of monitoring those who enter particular websites or who enter contentious chat room areas or the like?

Nowadays, internet is widely use around the world that even a 5-year-old kid can manipulate. Policing the internet is just the right thing to do to protect the users, especially underage who are doing researches and exploring the internet.