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Renaat Verbruggen

School of Computing

Dublin City University

renaat@computing.dcu.ie

700.5257

L.2.43

WHY STUDY CYBER ETHICS?

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Who are these people?

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Peter Chapman Ashleigh Hall

Case...

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A serial sex offender was today sentenced to life in prison after he admitted kidnapping, raping and murdering a teenager whom he ensnared using a fake profile on Facebook.Peter Chapman was told he must serve at least 35 years in prison by judge Peter Fox today, following the killing of Ashleigh Hall, who was 17.The judge said he was "a very great danger to young women, and for what it is worth, I cannot foresee your release".Sentencing him at Teesside crown court, the judge said Chapman had been the architect of "an evil scheme, very carefully brought, and with considerable detail, to trap your victim".The killer had claimed to be a handsome teenager and used the profile to lure the teenager into meeting him after he befriended her through Facebook.In reality, he was an emaciated, 33-year-old convicted double rapist, who was almost toothless and living in his car.

Case...• Graham Reeds QC, for the prosecution, told the court Chapman had

claimed to be called DJ Pete or Pete Cartwright.• "The photograph is not of him. It is of a barechested and good-looking

boy, who is apparently in his late teens."• Chapman was, in fact, "a somewhat plainer-looking man who could pass

for being rather older than his 33 years. When she met him on 25 October last year, he kidnapped, raped and murdered her."

• The prosecutor described how the teenager suffered from low-esteem.• The night before Ashleigh's body was found, she had told her mother she

was going to stay with a friend.

Case ...• In order to entice her into his car, Chapman sent her a text message saying

the boy's father would pick her up. He texted her to say: "My Dad's on his way, babe."

• She replied: "He's here, babe." Once in the car, he attacked her.• Ashleigh's body was found dumped in a farmer's field near Sedgefield,

County Durham, in October. Her arms were bound and tape was put over her face, suffocating her to death.

• Chapman was arrested by chance in a separate police inquiry after a nationwide alert went out to trace his car after he had failed to comply with the requirements of his sex offenders' registration. During initial interviews he told police they could "crush his car". He later lost his nerve and confessed to murder.

Questions

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Facebook security measures criticised after Ashleigh Hall murder

Facebook for not adding a panic button, created by the Home Office's Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, to its site. Ceop says the button, a large graphic which once installed features prominently on each profile page and gives internet safety advice, should be added to all social networking websites.

In a statement released today, Facebook said it had "a variety of measures people can use to protect themselves from unwanted contact and we

strongly encourage their use". It said it was "not clear how these two met" but it was "deeply saddened" by Ashleigh's death.

"What is clear is that Peter Chapman was a twisted, determined individual with an evil agenda who used every online and offline opportunity to meet people," it said. "This case serves as a painful reminder that all

internet users must use extreme caution when contacted over the internet by people they do not know.

"We echo the advice of the police, who urge people not to meet anyone they have been contacted by online unless they know for certain who they

are, as there are unscrupulous people in the world with malevolent agendas."

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Facebook Response

Political Response:

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The force referred its handling and review of the Chapman case to the IPCC after the home secretary, Alan Johnson, demanded answers. Johnson called on the police to "respond" and said lessons "needed to be learned" following Ashleigh's murder.Huhne also said people on the sex offenders register should have their internet activity monitored, although he admitted such a scheme would not be "infallible", as individuals could use computers outside the home, such as in internet cafes.

Police Advice:

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The government plans to launch an advertising campaign on how to use the internet safely. Parents will be advised to keep computers in areas where they can monitor their use. Durham police's chief superintendent, Andy Reddick, said Ashleigh Hall's death should be a "wake-up call to parents and internet companies".

Technical Response

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The Liberal Democrats' home affairs spokesman, Chris Huhne, said the sex offenders register should be upgraded to take account of the use of the internet. He said: "We do not even require the registration of IP and email addresses of sex offenders, which has now become typical in the United States. This would allow police to monitor social networking activity."

Ethical Response?

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Links

There is a full set of links on the homepage for my M.Sc. Course in Law and Ethics:

• http://www.computing.dcu.ie/~renaat/ca613/ca613overview.html

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Computing Cases

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Extensive Ethics Sites

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Philosophy Links

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Books

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Questions?

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