The internet has opened up incredible opportunities for sharing ideas, sparking connections, and giving marginalized groups a voice. However, it has also enabled the spread of unethical, harmful content that violates privacy, exploits the vulnerable, or promotes violence and abuse.
The Need for Caution with Children‘s Content
When children are involved in online content, extra caution is absolutely necessary from content creators, platforms, and consumers. According to research from the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children, reports of online enticement and child sexual abuse material have been rising rapidly in recent years, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic keeping children online more.[1]
Images, videos or livestreams featuring minors must always prioritize their wellbeing over curiosities, clicks or profits. Even when legal exceptions allow certain non-exploitive depictions, we must closely examine whether the material truly serves the child‘s best interests – not the interests of advertisers, audiences or creators.
The UK Council for Child Internet Safety‘s guide for content creators states: "Children may not be fully aware of the implications of sharing certain content now or later in their future lives. As creators it is important you consider whether children are appropriately protected."[2]
Our Shared Duty of Care
Beyond basic legal protections, we all share a moral duty to nurture healthy, ethical spaces online. This starts with promoting content that informs, connects and uplifts people. Where real problems exist regarding privacy, consent or exploitation, we can advocate reform through ethical reporting channels, careful oversight procedures, and policy discussions considering multiperspective human impacts.
Change often begins at the personal level. We can lead by example online:
- Honoring consent, anonymity and authentic portrayals
- Encouraging critical thought over knee-jerk reactions
- Fact-checking before resharing content
- Uplifting voices typically marginalized or overlooked
- Fostering communities where all people feel secure in their identity and dignity
The internet at its best can draw out our shared humanity. Let‘s have faith we can get there through patient, collective effort. Compassion and ethical content standards aligned with core values like human dignity, understanding across differences, and non-exploitation of the vulnerable, are where we need to aim. Progress happens gradually, but each of us can contribute today.
The Need for Nuanced Perspectives
When sensitive issues like privacy violations or exploitation arise, we must be careful of misplaced accusation without full context. Calls for drastic punitive action are often more about public performance than meaningful solutions.[3] Instead, we need nuanced perspectives considering multiple stakeholder viewpoints, and a focus on prevention over reaction.
Research shows perceived easy solutions rarely help in complex social issues involving crime or protected classes like children. For instance, website blocking tends to be ineffective for reducing child sexual exploitation overall. [4] Similarly, registries and neighborhood notification for sex offenders show little effect on recidivism rates; they likely reinforce social ostracization increasing recidivism risk over the long term. [5]
There are rarely easy answers when human dignity collides with complex psychological, social and institutional factors. Yet when our instinct is to punish and banish, we lose opportunities to understand root causes and develop ethical standards aligned with our highest shared values. We must be willing to have complicated conversations if we want meaningful improvement. Progress stems from patience, compassion and moral courage on all sides.
[1] Reports of online child sexual exploitation surge during pandemic
https://www.icmec.org/press/reports-of-online-child-sexual-exploitation-surge-during-pandemic/
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/content-creators-guide-to-online-safety/best-practice-guide-for-online-content-creators [3] On the effects of publicizing punishment
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/ethics-in-question/201709/the-effects-publicizing-punishment [4] Internet Blocking Accessibility and Effectiveness
https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cjp_facpub/18/ [5] Sex offender recidivism: A simple question 2017
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1054139X16301446