Norms and Responsibillities

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Norms and Responsibillities

Jeff Buscher
I think digital rights and responsibilities should echo what we expect from normal social interactions, but with an even greater focus on personal responsibility.  On the rights side, I would include the right to access to the vast majority of information and the right to be able to share one's opinion freely as long as that opinion is expressed respectfully with an awareness of not offending others.  I would also include the right to a degree of privacy, especially the right not to have your personal information redistributed for profit to others, such as in a lot of digital marketing.  All of this would have to be based on a greater degree of personal responsibility, because the mechanisms do not yet exist to ensure these rights the way they generally do in non-digital society.  There is a responsibility to know how to process information to discern fact from opinion.  There is a responsibility not to post or re-share false information, even if it fits one's preferred narrative more.  There is a responsibility to be respectful to others, especially when posting or responding to opinions other than one's own.  There is a responsibility to be aware of the real limits to one's privacy, and take the appropriate steps wherever possible to protect it by not sharing information in suspicious circumstances.  There is a responsibility to maintain security and maintenance of one's digital presence and footprint.