Online Content Movies and TV

Question: Australia: Online content such as download of movies and TV A crime or not? Answer: Rationale Diagram Introduction Ethical theories have been used for a detailed analysis of the selected case study and the one that has been chose is that of increased incidences of download of movies and TV from the online sources in Australia. These sources are unfamiliar and unreliable in nature and in spite of that there is an increase in such cases at an extremely rapid pace. The primary reason behind such activities is absence of any law or defined criminal action that may withhold people from attempting it. Also, there is a huge cost associated with acquiring the same content from original sources which makes download as an easy and free of cost option (Life, News, crime, 2014). Ethical theories Base of the analysis Just Consequentialism It is a theory which defines the act as ethical or unethical in nature on the basis of its outcome or the consequences that result from the same. The motive or the intent behind the same plays a lesser role as far as this particular theory is concerned (Sinnott-Armstrong, 2003). The case study under discussion revolves around the act of acquiring the online content related to the work of art and cinema and the same is termed as unethical in nature as per the norms of the theory of Just Consequentialism. The main factors that have been considered for this are as described below: There is a significant loss that the makers of the movies or TV have to go through due to increased download of content from unreliable and unauthorized sources. The possibility of a legal action is not nullified as the offence could be taken to the court and reported as a civil issue. Remunerative and redeeming charges would be applied if found guilty Since, it is seen that the consequences that result out of this activity are not favorable in nature for every part involved, thus, the act is unethical in nature (Moor, 2016). Virtue Ethics The second theory that has been selected as the base to term the act of downloads as ethical or unethical is the theory of Virtue Ethics. It decided the activity as right or wrong on the basis of intent or the morals behind the same ("Virtue Ethics - By Branch / Doctrine - The Basics of Philosophy", 2016). The primary motive behind the majority of users to have the movies and TV downloaded is to have enjoyment and entertainment for personal use and for friends and family. As per the theory of Virtue Ethics, the basic aim in life is to be happy and to spread happiness. The activity is thus, termed as ethical in this case ("LectureforExercise1.html", 2016). There are two scenarios that are involved in this act such as: Users who get hold of such content for the motive of enjoyment, fun, time-pass or entertainment. Users who further sell off such content in the market to make profit and use the same for commercial benefits. Ethical Issues in ICT There are a number of concerns that emerge in the world of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The can have some serious damage done for the individual as well as for the organization (Edewor, n.d.). Some of the most frequently seen issues of ICT are: ICT polished skill Privacy Security Cyber-wrong doings Intellectual property Legalization and censorship Incorporation of the society and social norms Community and character Pervasive and joint registering ("CCSR:The Ethics of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Business", 2016) The issues that have been discussed in detail in respect to the case study are those of Intellectual Property, Security and Cyber-crime. Intellectual Property refers to the property that belongs to an individual, group of individuals or an organization. The first form of such right is that of Copyrights and the second one is that related to the Industrial Property rights ("WTO | intellectual property (TRIPS) - what are intellectual property rights?", 2016). There is a violation of Intellectual Property with the download of content from unauthorized sources and the violation that occurs is that of the Copyrights. Makers impose the copyrights on their works of art and the violation of the same can be reported as a copyright infringement and be accounted for a legal action. The next issue in the list is that of security. There are innumerable sources on the internet from where the users can download movies and TV. Not all of these are reliable in nature and some of these can bring along malicious programs. These comprise of a set of instructions that are installed on the user machine and promote a particular product or capture the entire activity that is performed ("What is spyware and adware?", 2016). The same can lead to damage to the confidentiality and integrity of the system. The third issue that is broadly seen in the present era of internet and digital media is that of the cyber crimes. These are the activities that result in severe damage and adverse effects on the individual and the system as well. These capture the information through unauthenticated means and use the same to perform unauthorized activities ("What Is Cyber Crime? - Definition, Types Examples - Video Lesson Transcript | Study.com", 2016). There are many cyber crimes that take place with cyber stalking being the one that occurs very frequently. In this case, the attackers seize the address of the machine that is the computer system of the target machine and use the same to get inside the victims machine. All of the confidential and private information is then accessed by the attacker and malicious activities are performed which may result in huge loss to the image and reputation ("What is Cyberstalking? - Definition from Techopedia", 2016). Viruses which are a set of programs that are designed to perform malicious activity are also used to perform cyber crime ("What is a computer virus? definition and meaning", 2016). Conclusion Australia has been a primary victim to the activities of download of content from unauthorized sources. There are various reasons behind the growth of such activities with no defined law to minimize it and the additional costs that are present behind acquiring the same from original source being the major ones. The two ethical theories that judge the act report it as ethical and unethical in nature as per the theory of Just Consequentialism and Virtue Ethics respectively. In case of the commercial use, the same act is termed as unethical by the theory of virtue ethics as well. The other issues that are seen revolving around this activity are those of Intellectual Property, cyber crimes and security. These issues arise due to the unreliability and unfamiliarity of the sources as they are unauthorized and unauthenticated in nature. References CCSR:The Ethics of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Business. (2016). Ccsr.cse.dmu.ac.uk. Retrieved 27 May 2016, from https://www.ccsr.cse.dmu.ac.uk/resources/general/ethicol/Ecv8no2.html Edewor, N. Ethics and Social Issues Related to Information Communication Technology (ICT). Government, Social And Legal Issues, 135-147. https://dx.doi.org/10.4018/978-1-61692-012-8.ch009 LectureforExercise1.html. (2016). Spot.colorado.edu. Retrieved 27 May 2016, from https://spot.colorado.edu/~tooley/Lecture3-EthicalTheories.html Life, D., News, D., crime, D. (2014). Downloading movies and TV is not a crime. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 May 2016, from https://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/digital-life-news/downloading-movies-and-tv-is-not-a-crime-20141126-11uyie Moor,. (2016). Retrieved 27 May 2016, from https://www.idt.mdh.se/kurser/computing/DVA417/Lectures/Moor.pdf Sinnott-Armstrong, W. (2003). Consequentialism. Plato.stanford.edu. Retrieved 27 May 2016, from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/consequentialism/ Virtue Ethics - By Branch / Doctrine - The Basics of Philosophy. (2016). Philosophybasics.com. Retrieved 27 May 2016, from https://www.philosophybasics.com/branch_virtue_ethics.html What is a computer virus? definition and meaning. (2016). BusinessDictionary.com. Retrieved 27 May 2016, from https://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/computer-virus.html What Is Cyber Crime? - Definition, Types Examples - Video Lesson Transcript | Study.com. (2016). Study.com. Retrieved 27 May 2016, from https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-cyber-crime-definition-types-examples.html What is Cyberstalking? - Definition from Techopedia. (2016). Techopedia.com. Retrieved 27 May 2016, from https://www.techopedia.com/definition/14326/cyberstalking What is spyware and adware?. (2016). Spychecker.com. Retrieved 27 May 2016, from https://www.spychecker.com/spyware.html WTO | intellectual property (TRIPS) - what are intellectual property rights?. (2016). Wto.org. Retrieved 27 May 2016, from https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/trips_e/intel1_e.htm