Cyberethics - Ethics in the Age of the Internet :: Internet Online Communication Essays

Cyberethics - Ethics in the Age of the Internet In every society we live, we have to follow the rule of that place. The Internet is growing, growing in the number of users and growing in public perception. The Internet is the new American frontier due to the new technologies is radically transforming almost every aspect of how we communicate and with whom, as well as just about any dimension of our lives. Most Internet users are convinced of its general utility and positive benefits. However behind it, the Internet, as well as its technological offspring’s the World Wide Web has been compared to the Wild West, because no one owns the network and there is no law and regulations. In consequence of the growth of the Internet, there have been increasing calls for its regulation from many sides. NEW MEDIA The new medium of the Internet has begun to create shadow versions of our older media (Crowley 303). William J. Mitchell likens computers as media to a frontier society (Crowley 303). New media technologies beckon more enticingly than ever. More than merely offering an improvement on existing forms of communication, new media technologies are creating what telecommunications scholar Frederick Williams calls a â€Å"virtually new medium of public communication† (Pavlik, 79). The Internet is a form of new media. Exploiting the Internet’s distribution channels will be an important challenge to publishing and other media industries in the next few years. The initial problem is that no one owns the network. The Internet continues to expand both in terms of audience and the range of its information services. Among other benefits, it offers American media companies an important channel for searching both old and new audiences. Until recently, Canada's broadcast and telecommuni cations watchdog is gearing up to tackle a potentially explosive issue -- whether it should try to regulate the Internet. The CRTC (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission) said regulation could be used to promote Canadian culture or protect Canadians -- particularly youngsters -- from obscenities such as pornography and hate propaganda on the Internet (Brehl). However later, the CRTC announced that it will not regulate new media services on the Internet. After conducting an in-depth review under the Broadcasting Act and the Telecommunications Act beginning last July, the CRTC has concluded that the new media on the Internet are achieving the goals of the Broadcasting Act and are vibrant, highly competitive and successful without regulation.