A bumper sticker I saw the other day read: "We are responsible for the monsters we create.”
That's an interesting concept in an age when individual freedoms are prized so highly. People have the right to disseminate ideas, create artwork and speak their mind. And, unless their actions will cause tangible detriment to someone else, they're protected.
But should this same protection be applied to the creators of computer and network viruses?
In a recent New York Times Magazine article, Clive Thompson interviewed several young programmers of so-called "malware." Some said that by creating virus codes, even publishing the recipes online, they’re not the ones causing harm to others; rather, it's malicious or stupid users who disseminate the virus that should be blamed for wreaking billions of dollars of havoc.
In other words, the virus creators refuse to take responsibility for the “monsters” they gave life to, referring to their codes as intricate (if ugly) works of art.
But when such art projects have the potential to delete hard drives, slow down online business and cost entities billions, they’re not really a harmless means of expression.
People who create viruses and then publish them online, should be held responsible for the ensuing mayhem that results, even if someone else unleashed the monster.
Written by NEXT writer Sharon Altaras
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