Author: Elizabeth A. Buchanan
Publisher: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Publication Year: 2021
Summary: The following resource discusses how internet research comes with a myriad of ethical questions: What ethical obligations do researchers have to protect the privacy of subjects engaging in activities in “public” internet spaces? What are such public spaces? Is there any reasonable expectation of privacy in an era of pervasive and ubiquitous surveillance and data tracking? How is confidentiality or anonymity assured online? How is and should informed consent be obtained online? How should research on minors be conducted, and how do you prove a subject is not a minor? Is deception (pretending to be someone you are not, withholding identifiable information, etc.) an acceptable online norm or a harm? How is “harm” possible to someone existing in an online space? How identifiable are individuals in large data sets? Do human subjects protections apply to big data? These questions are addressed in the ethics of internet research.