4 ms·
Yes of course using a priveleged position to dox someone is condemnable. I'll admit, I missed where Joshua Benton managed to identify Francesca Viola. However
by TOMDM 5y ago
Yes of course using a priveleged position to dox someone is condemnable. I'll admit, I missed where Joshua Benton managed to identify Francesca Viola.
However that wasn't what I was taking issue with in the parent comment.
I think it's reasonable to expect however that:
- Journalists should be able to discuss each others views
- People who work at tech platforms should not dox their users (without a warrant)
- There is an acceptable point where an employer can fire their employees for what views they express in their private life.
So in all, is what Joshua did wrong here? I'd say so, but only because he doxxed a user.
Is what the University did wrong here? It sucks where the information came from, but probably not. But even if you were to argue that there was, I find what Joshua did here to be largely immaterial towards that point, it's only how her employer chooses to react that is relevant.
- mensetmanusman 5y agoYou can’t ethically separate cause and effect in this case though.
- TOMDM 5y agoIf I wanted to analyse the ethics of the whole situation, no of course I can't. But I can say that an unethical decision on the part of one party spurred on an ethical response from another. If a robber breaks into a house a pedophile and discovers illicit material, are the police unethical for following up on that lead?
- Natsu 5y agoIt's weird, but I remember a completely different consensus on journalists publishing and using "hacked" information just last year. Abusing one's admin position to dox someone is not really distinguishable from any principled position against publishing hacked information. It's weird to me that this ethical consideration seems to be something that can be ignored whenever convenient.
- munk-a 5y agoWas this information "hacked" from the US government or a corporation? We've frequently seen dumps of information from corporations and governments that could not be acquired legally but leveraging them is, IMO, a net good. There is no "person" that's being harmed, just a company's profits.
- Natsu 5y agoThey doxxed a person, and allegedly misattributed racist comments to the wrong person based on that info which was gathered without authorization from Disqus. That probably shouldn't rise to a CFAA violation, but there was a supposed ethical standard around publishing hacked information, so it's a bit weird to see that ethical consensus come and go so easily.