Topic 1 – NETIQUETTE = Ethics on the Internet

When considering Netiquette – ethics on the Internet, you should address, among other things, privacy, data protection and confidentiality, copyright and intellectual property rights, the issue of spreading rumours and destroying someone’s good name under the guise of informing other people.

Definitions of the terms above

• Privacy online & data protection : Privacy is the right to confidentiality, e.g. announcing on Facebook that your friend has a boyfriend, without her permission, is a breach of privacy.
• Internet safety : Internet safety is directly linked to physical safety. For example, you probably have heard of computer games that require the participant to complete a certain task/challenge in real life. What if such a challenge is physically dangerous for the game participant?
• Copyright and intellectual property rights : The preservation of copyright and intellectual property rights is of particular importance in VET. Various sources of information can be found on the Internet. They are of course available for use, but the source and author must be acknowledged.
• Spreading rumours : Spreading rumours has become much easier on the Internet. Any user can spread information about others using, for example, social networks. In some cases, this can even turn into hate speech, i.e. passing the negative statements about others made on the basis of racial, ethnic, gender or sexual orientation prejudices. Remember that words can cause harm. Before you spread any information about another person, ask them if they agree to that.

For more information on this topic, you could also see the module named “How to validate online information”

Definition of ethics : is the study of morality. It attempts to explain what good, conscience and responsibility are and what effect morally good and evil actions have on human nature. To understand the definition of ethics, it is necessary to go back to the definition of good and evil. The encyclopaedias say that evil is one of the two basic moral categories – the opposite of good. 

Definition of etiquette: an established way of acting, behaving. For some, saying ‘good morning’ to the teacher when entering school may be obvious, but many people do not consider it in that way. There is also a difference in the way citizens of different countries, cultures or religions behave. There is no ready-made study containing all etiquette-compliant and etiquette-uncompliant behaviour. Different etiquette applies at school, in the office, in the consulting room, and so on

Definition of netiquette : is a set of rules about how to behave well online. In other words, it is ethics on the internet.