Tutorial Presentation 1: Cyberstalking – Gender and Computer Ethics

The article looks at two aspects: how new computer ethics discipline could benefit from insight into feminist theory and how feminist theory could be used to make a more extended analysis in discussion of computer ethics through examples of cyberstalking.

Feminist ethics applied to computer ethics provides three major alternatives. First is a possibility of countering the technological determinism. Next is continuing inequalities in power and how these are “gendered”. Lastly, an offer to alternative, collective approach to the individualism of the traditional ethical theories encapsulated in computer ethics.

Alison Adams focuses on new analysis of examples from cyberstalking, arguing that the traditional liberal ethical response does not get to the heart of the problem whereas feminist theory may offer a more promising alternative.

In developing various woman-centred approaches to ethnics, the overall aim of feminist ethics is ‘to create a gender-equal ethics, a moral theory that generates non-sexist moral principles, policies and practices’ (Tong 1998).

In all three cyberstalking examples, the female victims felt unhappy about the level of protection that law offers to them. The perpetrators impersonate the victims in anonymous Internet postings, where they defame the victim, sent out postings containing pornographic invitation thereby causing others to display threatening behaviour towards the victims.

Although men can also become victims of anonymous, defamatory postings, the features of the case (Godfrey) shows differing results as compared to the above three examples. This case is not seen as a case of cyberstalking. It revolves around the idea of a consumer winning the lawsuit against the Internet Service Provider.