Legislation Governing Computer Use

Technology is quickly upgrading each day. Even my instructors tell us that what we are learning today may be obsolete when we graduate. As new gadgets are made, people who are in the IT field must cope up with its changes. YES, I am in favor for having an ordering principle, in the form of legislation governing computer use. It is because these law will control and regulate the use of technology. It will also give the users guidelines and rules which they should follow in using these computer technology and also their limitations. By implementing such laws, it will decrease computer crimes so that users who violates rules will be punished. In the laws we have here in the Philippines, we lack some of the rules regarding computer use, that is why most users here are abusing and violating the use of computers nowadays...

What Predominates in the World of Computing

I think that Mill's Utilitarianism is the ethical theory that predominates in the world of computing. It is because most computer users now are now only after their own happiness. Most computer programmers/geeks do hacking and cracking for their own good even though what they are doing is illegal. I know this because I am exposed in different kinds of forums that deals with computers. To give you an example, when I was in high school, I am fond of testing and altering the configurations/settings of my mobile phone just to access the internet through my operator for FREE. Yes, for free. It gives me happiness because the outcome was successful and I even shared it to my classmates for them to experience it also. But as time passes by, mobile networks keep updating their system because many users are violating their rules which is you have to pay them if you want to access their internet services. I also tried to hack prepaid load and was so fulfilling. So after those countless updates, I was tired of bypassing their system so I switched to another field again which is customizing the operating system of mobile phones which includes flashing, rooting, jailbreaking, unlocking and updating. Enough of that, so as you can see I can relate myself to this theory because even if I know that what I am doing is wrong and pretty sure that I violated certain laws, I still don't care because I love what I'm doing , I do it just for my experience, I'm having fun with it and it gives me happiness....



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- mon_jumbo

Preliminary Theories

A. Morally good under all circumstances

*CREATING SOFTWARE THAT BENEFITS US ALL

- creating computer software or applications that will benefit us all is considered morally good under all circumstances. Many computer software that is being released nowadays are not suitable for everyone. Especially those games that promotes killing, torturing and shooting people. There are software out there that benefits all of us just like dictionaries, encyclopedias, mind challenging games, word games and many more. By the use of these software, it reduces the time for us to go to a library to search for the meaning of words, or puzzles/games that enhances our thinking, calculation and vocabulary skills, or to get information about a certain topic. Even though these types of software are usually not for free, I can say that they are helpful in enhancing the experience of learning and teaching at the same time...

B. Morally bad under all circumstances

*INVASION OF PRIVACY
- invading someones privacy is considered morally bad under all circumstances . It is a violation to a person's right to be left alone. A person has its control on his/her own boundaries. By boundary, I mean you have those things that are open for others to know and there are also those things that should be only kept by yourself. When something is private to a person, everyone must respect that. It is bad when someone is spying on you, reading your emails, reading your text messages, steals your personal information or even private pictures. Every person must have privacy so we must respect it. But I must say that the technology we have today (digital camera, cellphones, WiFi, social networking sites) is contributing to the invasion of privacy...

C. Morally good/bad under certain circumstances

*SOFTWARE PIRACY
- software piracy for me is considered as morally good/bad under certain circumstances. The unauthorized copying of software is bad. Most programs that are being sold is only authorized to run on a single computer and distributing the software that is intended to run that way is not good. While distributing those kinds of software is bad, I think that we should have an exemption. I have this laboratory session on one of my computer subjects where my instructor distributes a software for us to install that includes a key generator for that software to be activated. I told him that what he's doing violates computer ethics. He just smiled and said "it's for educational purposes..." Reflecting from this, I can say that software piracy is not always that bad. It depends on the purpose of why is it being done. It is good when you use the software for academic purposes and for demonstrating the software only. In fact , many of us are not using a licensed copy of our operating system because nowadays, we must be practical =)

Law Governing Computer Use

Law on Piracy.Section 33-b of Republic Act 8792, Part V (Philippines)

- defines piracy as the unauthorized copying, reproduction, dissemination, distribution, importation, use, removal, alteration, substitution, modification, storage, uploading, downloading, communication, making available to the public, or broadcasting of protected material, electronic signature or copyrighted works including legally protected sound recordings or phonographs or information material on protected works, through the use of telecommunication networks, such as, but not limited to, in the internet, in the manner that infringes intellectual property rights shall be punished by a minimum fine of one hundred thousand pesos ( P 100,000.00) and a maximum commensurate to the damage incurred and a mandatory imprisonment of six(6) months to three(3) years...

The Law on Piracy is underpinned in non-jural laws like moral law and natural law, because these human actions violate righteousness, justice, equity and fairness.

Personal Code Of Ethics

I. RESPECT THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU 
 - you need to respect the people around you so that they will treat you right.


II. HONOR YOUR PARENTS 
 - you must honor your parents at all times. Appreciating what they are doing for you is showing them that you care.


III. DON'T EVER TELL LIES
- lying is bad. When you lie too much, there will come a time that no one will ever believe you, even if you are telling the truth.


IV. DON'T TRUST TOO MUCH 
 - never trust someone too much because broken trust is hard to fix and trusting too much will just hurt you in the end.


V.  BE RESPONSIBLE 
- be responsible at all times because responsibility is earned. This will allow people to rely on you.


VI. DON'T TALK ABOUT PEOPLE BEHIND THEIR BACK
- saying something bad about a person when they are not present is not a good habit.


VII. BE HUMBLE
- being humble helps you to be more content of what you have and this can improve your relationship to others.


VIII. DON'T JUDGE OTHER PEOPLE
- don't judge or else you will also be judged. We all have different reasons in every move we make.


IX. THINK OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR ACTIONS
- actions have consequences. You must always think the effects of an action before doing so.


X. DON'T CHANGE YOURSELF FOR ANYBODY
- always be who you are. Don't be a different person just to please someone because by doing this, you are not being true to yourself and at the same time you are making yourself unhappy...