Ethical Problems In Network Propagation And Countermeasures Against Them

Network propagation means that a propagation subject transfers information by employing Internet as propagation space and an electronic computer plus Internet as propagation media. It widens people's moral scope and opens up a new moral field. It contributes to the formation of individual moral consciousness and moral character, quick propagation of moral concept, and moral education, it also contributes to the establishment of moral evaluation mechanism, saves the costs of such establishment and improves the veracity, effectiveness and timeliness of moral evaluation. Nevertheless, network propagation encourages people's anarchism, weakens people's consciousness of responsibility, alienates people, and avianizes the characteristic of human as subject. There exists a great possibility that network propagation clears up mainstream ideology and constitutes a great threat to mainstream moral concept and values of our society.At present, the ethical problems in network propagation includes: Firstly, the protection of right of privacy in network space, including the infringing acts by government and employers, those by software/hardware manufacturers, those by network service providers, and the stealing of network users' personal information by computer hackers and other individuals. Secondly, network security. This refers mainly to computer Viruses and computer hackers' intrusion. Thirdly, information junk, also called network junk or information pollution, including junk mail, network rumor, false advertising or false information. Fourthly, information sharing and protection of intellectual property. Lastly, network iroticism, network love and network marriage. All these problems are closely related to the features of network technologies, imperfect network moral system and human's psychological basis. Such a large number of ethical problems in network propagation require that we should strengthen the construction of ethics and moral in terms of network code of ethics and network ethics subject's qualities. Meantime, such construction requires that the principles of harmlessness, fairness, respect, negotiation, and harmonious development should be followed.Network propagation develops and changes continuously. Its development is bound to give rise to new ethical and moral problems. To make our network world more healthy and harmonious, we must take the following measures. That is, we should train network users with moral cognition, high self-discipline spirit, intense moral sentiment, and strong moral will, who can tell right from wrong and good from evil. Also, we should cultivate and improve network subjects' moral qualities by means of network moral education in families, schools, enterprises/institutions and society. Meantime, we should employ exemplary education and situational education to improve network subjects' moral qualities and cultivation. Only in this way can each network subject receive network moral education consciously and actively. Thus, network subjects can improve their own network moral qualities and transfer them into noble network moral behavior.