Analyzing the legal roots and moral core of digital consent

an article by Elizabeth Edenberg and Meg Leta Jones (Georgetown University, USA) published in New Media & Society Volume 21 Issue 8 (August 2019)

Abstract

We will argue that clarifying the “moral core” of consent offers a common metric by which we can evaluate how well different legal frameworks are able to protect the central moral rights and interests at stake.

We begin by revisiting how legal frameworks for digital consent developed in order to see where there may be common moral ground and where these different cultures diverge on the issue of protection of personal information.

We then turn to ethics to clarify the central interests and rights at stake in morally transformative consent, in order to provide a common basis for evaluating the different legal frameworks.

Ultimately, we seek the moral core of digital consent in order to reimagine its role in international conflicts.

Full text (PDF 20pp)

Hazel’s comment:
There are a number of things about which I ask myself is it moral, is it ethical as against the legality of a specific action. Just because the law allows something does not make it right and the opposite is also true.
The authors of this piece have struck what seems to me to be a good balance.

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