Ethical Binds in a Digital World

David Stockdale

August 12, 2013

https://www.digitalethics.org/essays/ethical-binds-digital-world

 "Binds Unbound"  

First Impression:

Binds are synonymous to the following words in my vocabulary: "limits", "confidential", "private", "rules", and "regulations". And as far as the title goes, when it comes to the online world, I don't see much of "ethical binds" lately going on especially with the ongoing issues in our digital era that seems to be in an endless cycle nowadays.

Quote: 

" The only limitations are the speed at which reporters and whistle-blowers can type and send their respective correspondence, and the speed at which we read them, often with a certain impotent rage."

Reflection Proper: 

In our world nowadays, information and its opposite go hand in hand travelling along the superhighway and into our heads. With that sort of thing going on, truth and lies mixed together in a cauldron of heaping information, a question comes to mind, as the essay says: "How do we begin to make sense of what is happening in this country?" Or in my sense, world. The essay relates this to a certain case that involves Bradley Manning, which is infamously known of disclosing classified information to WikiLeaks. According to the essay, this is a prime example of "what happens when arrogance meets access to sensitive information", in this case, what Manning did is nothing compared to the recent scandals that happened to have popped up during that time, such as the Afghanistan massacre courtesy of U.S. soldier Robert Bales or the National Security Agency happened to have been collecting phone and Web information of every American citizen. As I read the entire essay that mostly pointed out everything about Manning and his case, I agree to this thought: a certain problem has popped, and is bigger than Manning or any other scandal like the NSA or the massacre --- the problem itself is human nature. Point being, and I agree with the essay on this one: people always protect their own interests and thus there is no point or trigger rather to change the system that is until public opinion changes instantly. For instance, as long as people remain calm and believe that if they are not doing anything criminal, there's no worries, for the government always put security before privacy concerns, and until that system is in a state of which transparency is in everyone's best interest, harmful secrets will rise. In other words --- we should take caution in every step we do in our lives, as we need to think where the line should be when it comes to privacy and security, or rather we should know our limits and principles when it comes to certain situation, like say for instance, having unlimited access to classified networks all days long and thinking of what to do it, for better or for worse. Needless to say, in our digital world of information, we should always be careful of the information we have, for everything we do regarding that can change everything for better or for worse in this world.

5 Things Learned From Article: 

1. I learned about our culture is where truthful information and misinformation travel together.

2. I learned about  Bradley Manning's WikiLeaks case and scandals like the Robert Bales massacre in Afghanistan.

3. I learned that human nature is a problem which is far worse than any scandal or case one has ever faced.

4. I learned that everyone should sit down and work out certain ways on how to handle information correctly and decide on where the draw the line when it comes to certain things like privacy and security.

5. I learned that when it comes to finding out the truth, we should think first on what we are doing and think of what could possibly happen next

5 Integrative Questions:

1. What's your opinion on today's culture when it comes to misinformation and real information?

2. Do you ever think about what to do with, say for instance, "unprecedented access to classified networks 14 hours a day, seven days a week for eight-plus months"?

3. How do you feel about certain information being classified and not even shown to the public no matter how important it is for the public to be notified about it?

4. What's your take on Manning's case?

5. How do you tend to take care of such things like the thriving and growth of harmful secrets online?