The need for a code of ethics on the use of the Internet

To understand the problem of ethics in the internet, you must first have a basic understanding of how the Internet actually works.
Although the internet actually came into being by the U.S. military in 1969, it was not until 1989 that the World Wide Web was created in Switzerland. Today there are approximately 400 million people who regularly use the Internet for personal and business matters.

The Internet was originally conceived as a closed network, for military and then academia, and because of this closed nature dealing with specific issues, the issue of ethics in line was not expected.

Only a few intellectuals were able to use the internet in its early days and, as such, a set of values ​​that are considered inherent in these individuals was essentially seen as the 'code of conduct'. Therefore, the acceptance of disagreement and aversion to containment have been seen as acceptable at that time.

Internet growth has been incredible and more people use it for longer periods of time to do more things. The internet is no longer owned by a few intellectuals. In many societies, the Internet can be accessed by almost all citizens. If you do not have Internet at home, it can normally be accessed through the academic institutions and libraries.

Although the Internet has been developed for the Americans, has long ceased to be an American phenomenon, although about two-thirds of users are still Americans. At the moment, the debate is basically between the U.S. and Western Europe. However, since the growth of the Internet continues, even the need to accommodate a wide range of cultures and systems of values.
Understanding the need for ethics on the Internet requires a basic understanding of the nature of the Internet and the services it provides.

The main forms of content include the World Wide Web, e-mail, chat and newsgroups on Usenet.

The World Wide Web, which now consists of over a billion sites ranging from simple personal homepage that many people now have sites up to very sophisticated business professional.

E-mail allows instant communication with other Internet users around the world. The implications of this ability in business is enormous.

There are about 40 thousand chat rooms online. These are generally focused on a particular subject or group of people and allows people to communicate both one-on-one or in groups. This ability has certainly made the world a smaller place, especially for those who have family and friends in other countries.

There are also about 40 000 newsgroups that allow people to share articles on a wide range of different subjects. These can range from technical to the bizarre. Sometimes the ethics of the more sexually bizarre can come into the debate.

So, how can a code of ethics to be applied to Internet services? There are a number of things that must be considered, but, especially when there are children, parental supervision can not be exceeded.

The Internet is made up of many networks, and this continues to grow. The services all have different characteristics that must be treated differently so that any discussion of ethics must take this into account.

There are many people involved in the internet and all these people have different agendas. There are companies that specialize in Internet infrastructure, Internet Service Providers, as well as those that provide content. Not all companies provide services to all chat rooms or newsgroups and so on. Therefore, ethics can be applied only when you know who has control and responsibility of all these services.

With the growing population of Internet, the call for ethics has become global and is not restricted to specialists, but to the general public who want solutions that are practical and targeted.

The World Wide Web should be considered as part of society, rather than as a separate entity and as such, must be subject to the same values ​​and ethics, as one would expect in the offline business. It 'a fundamental aspect of modern business and should not be seen as a zone of free setting.

Issues such as copyright, child pornography, consumer protection, racial vilification and so on should be subject to the same laws and ethical standards as society in general and more stringent controls put in place to protect the masses of people using the Internet .

If not, can only result in this World Wide Anarchy via the Internet. Is this the future we want for our children? ...