Multimedia, cyberspace and ethics

Cyberspace not only facilitates the use of the whole range of multimedia but it also provides for an unlimited recombination of images, text, sound, animation and video for a huge variety of applications. For example, cyberspace facilitates the creation and visualisation of new virtual spaces as well as virtual identities. As such, a huge number of ethical issues are raised. Some of these issues include those of privacy, accuracy, data security, intellectual property rights and accessibility. However, concern for these issues and the actual social and cultural impact on society of the burgeoning development of a multimedia cyberspace is very often overlooked in most of the `hype´ and `techno-enthusiasm´ that abounds. This paper therefore addresses some of the ethical issues that computing professionals owe a duty to society to consider and expose