Social Networking

Social Networking and Ethical Issues and SomeCases

Ethics in Information Technology

Social Networking

•         Is a way to connect to your friends online.

•         The sites are non-restricted so anyone can access to it.

•         Once gain accessed to a social networking site, you can begin to socialize.

•         Creates an online community of Internet users that eliminates barriers created by time, distance, and cultural.

MOST POPULAR NETWORKING SITES

•         Twitter –- A real time information service for friends, family member, and coworkers looking to stay connected through the exchange of messages that are maximum of 140 characters.

•         Facebook – keeping up with friends; upload pictures, videos and play games; chatting in private or open discussion; meeting new people online.

•         Flickr – less socializing on this site; upload and share any pictures for others to see.

•         LinkedIn  - Business-oriented  social networking site use for professional networking ; users create a network made up of people they know and trust in business.

•         Google+ - separates you friends from your colleagues; you can post something that your friend can see, but you colleagues cannot.

•         MySpace- general s.n.w use by teenagers and adults worldwide; allows members to communicate with friends via personal profiles, blogs and groups, as well as to post photos, music and videos to their personal pages.

TOPICS:

•         Business Application of Online Social Networking

•         Social Networking Ethical Issues

•         Cases

BUSINESS APPLICATIONS OF ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORKING

•         Social network advertising

      Uses social networks to communicate and promote the benefits of products and services.

•      Social network advertising strategies

q  Direct advertising

§  Banner ads on social networking Web site

q  Advertising using an individual’s network of friends

§  People frequently make decisions based on input from their close group of friends.

§  Ethical issues with exploiting an individual’s personal relationships for the financial benefit of a company

q   Indirect advertising through groups

§  Interested users can join by becoming “fans”

§  Fans gained in this manner may not remain loyal

§  Company-owned social networking Web site

q  Users can talk about what new products, services, or improvements they would like to see.

q  Viral marketing

q  Users pass along marketing message to others, creating the potential for exponential growth

SOCIAL NETWORKING ETHICAL ISSUES

•         Ethical issues for social networking Web sites are:

–        Cyberbullying

–        Cyberstalking

–        Sexual predators

–        Uploading inappropriate material

•         Cyberbullying

–        Harassment, torment, humiliation, or threatening of one minor by another minor or group of minors via the Internet or cell phone

–        Cyberbullying can become so intense, child commits suicide

•         Numerous forms of cyberbullying

–        Sending mean-spirited or threatening messages

–        Sending thousands of text messages to victim’s cell phone and running up a huge cell phone bill

–        Impersonating victim and sending inappropriate messages to others

–        Stealing victim’s password and modifying his or her profile to include racist, homophobic, sexual, or other inappropriate data that offends others or attracts the attention of undesirable people

–        Posting mean, personal, or false information about the victim in the cyberbully’s blog

–        Creating a Web site whose purpose is to humiliate or threaten the victim

–        Taking inappropriate photos of the victim and either posting online or sending to others via cell phone

–        Setting up an Internet poll to elicit responses to embarrassing questions regarding victim

–        Sending inappropriate messages while playing interactive games

•         Cyberstalking

–        Threatening behavior or unwanted advances using the Internet or online and electronic communications

–        Adult version of cyberbullying

–        Can escalate into:

•         Abusive or excessive phone calls

•         Threatening or obscene mail

•         Trespassing

•         Vandalism

•         Physical stalking

•         Physical assault

–        Over three dozen states have laws prohibiting cyberstalking

–        Current federal statues address some forms of cyberstalking, but there are large gaps in federal and state law

•      Encounters with sexual predators

–        Some social networking Web sites are criticized for not protecting minors from sexual predators

–        MySpace banned 90,000 registered sex offenders from its site

–        Legislators are pushing social networking Web sites to adopt stronger safety measures

•         Uploading of inappropriate material

–        Social networking Web sites have policies against uploading videos depicting violence or obscenity

–        Most social networking Web sites have terms of use agreements that give the sites the right to delete material and terminate users accounts that violate their policy

–        Most Web sites do not have sufficient resources to review all material posted

CASES

‘Amalayer’ a victim of cyber-bullying

Law of “Anti-Bullying Act of 2012”

SEC. 2.  Acts of Bullying – For purposes of this Act, “bullying” shall refer to any severe or repeated use by one or more students of a written, verbal or electronic expression, or a physical act or gesture, or any combination thereof, directed at another student that has the effect of actually causing or placing the latter in reasonable fear of physical or emotional harm or damage to his property; creating a hostile environment at school for the other student; infringing on the rights of the other student at school; or materially and substantially disrupting the education process or the orderly operation of a school; such as, but not limited to, the following:

(a) Any unwanted physical contact between the bully and the victim like punching, pushing, shoving, kicking, slapping, tickling, headlocks, }inflicting school pranks, teasing, fighting and the use of available objects as weapons;

(b) Any act that causes damage to a victim’s psyche and/or emotional well-being;

(c ) Any slanderous statement or accusation that causes the victim undue emotional distress like directing foul language or profanity at the target, name-calling, tormenting and commenting negatively on victim’s looks, clothes and body; and

(d) Cyber-bullying or any bullying done through the use of technology or any electronic means.

Punishment

The bill penalizes any person found guilty of acts of cyberbullying with six to 12 years imprisonment. A fine ranging from P30, 000 to P50, 000 may also be imposed by the court.

CASES

12-Year-Old Sentenced for Cyberstalking Classmate

Bills on stalking

Under the pending proposals on stalking — Senate Bill 1778 by Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago and 2442 by Senator Manuel Villar — a person commits stalking when he or she harasses another by:

making repeated communications anonymously or at extremely inconvenient hours or in offensively coarse language;

making repeated visits to the victim’s home or workplace;

following or repeatedly maintaining visual or physical proximity to victim in or about a public place or places; and

engaging in any other course of alarming conduct.

Under the measure, any person who commits any of these acts shall be punished by arresto mayor in its maximum period (imprisonment from four to six months) to prision correccional in its minimum period (imprisonment from six months to two years and four months) or a fine ranging from P1,000 to P5,000.

Existing laws

Article 26 of the Civil Code says that “every person shall respect the dignity, personality, privacy and peace of mind of his neighbors and other persons."

Included in the acts that supposedly violate these rights are:

prying into the privacy of another’s residence;

meddling with or disturbing the private life or family relations of another;

intriguing to cause another to be alienated from his friends; and

vexing or humiliating another on account of his religious beliefs, lowly station in life, place of birth, physical defect, or other personal condition.

The Code, however, says that although they may be venues for relief or damages, the acts do not constitute a criminal offense.

Santiago, meanwhile, has separately filed a bill which would prohibit “cyber bullying", or bullying done through electronic devices by means of texting, instant messaging, chatting, and the use of social networking websites.

LEVEL OF PENALTIES: legalhawk.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/table-of-penalties.pdf