Freedom and responsibility in the use of Internet: a handbook for democratic societies

Raphael Cohen-Almagor is Professor and Chair in Politics at the University of Hull, United Kingdom. Confronting the Internet’s dark side is his fifth book in a series of texts published between 1994 and 2015, all of which cover the conjunction between ethics, law and technology. The reader soon appreciates this book as the result of a long and fruitful academic career and, in some sense, a book of intellectual maturity. Cohen-Almagor offers very complete and well-grounded explanations, along with an impressive list of references and bibliographical resources. Moreover, the book is enriched by experts’ interviews, which make it more up-to-date and realistic. Although the high amount of notes and sources interrupt the discourse too much and may impair the reading, this book stands up as a solid basis for research and teaching on the Internet. The goals of the book are clearly identified from the beginning, and frequently recalled: ‘My intention is to evoke social and moral responsibility on the part of people who upload material on the Internet, readers of Internet publications, Internet service providers, governments, law enforcement agencies, and the international community at large. All need to address the urgent need to devise ways to counter the challenges that Internet abusers are posing to free societies’ (pp. 64–65). For that, the author proposes self-regulation, respect of the law of the state, international cooperation by all segments of society, as well as following of the basic moral and social obligations common to all liberal democracies, that is, respect for others and not harming others. The author’s view is very well synthetized in the concept of Netcitizens versus Netusers. While Netuser is a ‘neutral term that does not convey any clue regarding how a person uses the Internet’, Netcitizen ‘implies responsible use of the Internet’, what makes each one accountable for the consequences of an irresponsible use and, conversely, can make them ‘good citizens of the Internet’ when contributing to improve it and society (p. 81). In short, Necitizens are ‘Netusers with a sense of responsibility’ (p. 308).