The moral framework of cyberspace
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14779960480000247 |
| Date | 31 August 2004 |
| Published date | 31 August 2004 |
| Pages | 125-131 |
| Author | Bernd Remmele |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management |
The Moral Framework of Cyberspace
INTRODUCTION
The moral or ethical specificity of infor-
mation technology is reflected in the
transformation of the ethical reference
frame, which is caused by the growing
usage of information technology. Three
interwoven aspects of this transformation
will be discussed in the following: infor-
mation and transactions costs, ownership
and property, and the ludicity of cyber-
space. These considerations have been
triggered by the explanatory problem
caused by the production of public goods
in the Internet. Especially open-source
and free software (OS/FS) initiatives pro-
duce, exchange, and make labor intensive
and partly marketable information pub-
licly accessible. This applies by and large
also to Usenet groups, wikis, blogs etc.
The members of these initiatives carry out
work for the respective group and further
on for everyone, who is technologically
able to use it. A great part of this work is
done without the anticipation of a direct
reward; also the potential user is not
expected – and because of the medial con-
ditions cannot be expected – to recipro-
cate the received good. According to the
common understanding this ought to be
considered as moral behavior. This moral
dimension is reflected in the political con-
ceptions of the activists. They often aim
at (or dream of ) a social order not domi-
nated by the incentives of private proper-
ty but by the free willingness to contribute
to society. Accordingly they support posi-
tions regarding the liberty and anonymity
of information flow or regarding the
meaning of free and proprietary software,
which contradict directly the positions of
the copyright industry.
Info, Comm & Ethics in Society (2004) 3: 125–131
©2004 Troubador Publishing Ltd.
KKEEYYWWOORRDDSS
Computer
Ethics
Intellectual
property
Open source
software
e-governance
Bernd Remmele
Institute for Computer Science and Social Studies, Freiberg, Germany
Email: remmele@uni-freiburg.de
CCOOVVEERRAAGGEE
Morality, resp. moral communication, undergoes substantial changes when it is computer-mediated, i.e.
cyberspace provides a different moral infrastructure. Firstly, there are different conditions regarding the
transaction costs that frame the relation between moral motivation and the expectation of the success of a
moral act. Secondly, there is the transformation of ownership and property, which are the basic content of
moral actions and communications. The personal accountability of one’s and somebody else’s own (proper-
ty) is altered; a special ethic of virtual ownership is developing, which finds its expression in the mani-
fold production of public goods in virtual networks. This development is reflected in the dialectics of dig-
ital commons and anti-commons. Thirdly, there is the ludic structure of cyberspace. The medial conditions
of cyberspace are analogous to the basic principles of play. Playing as a self-motivated action is a reason
for moral behaviour in cyberspace, especially for the production of public goods.
ABSTRACT
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