A group presentation addressing an ethical issue, key stakeholders, potential courses of action, and how they relate to philosophical ideas. This shows that I have the foundation to analyze ethical issues and can logically consider consequences.

1. By Benjamin Benoit, RJ Bishop, Ken Clark,
Garrett Diebold, and Savanah Kennedy
Date: February 4, 2016
Course and Section: CIS150-78
CASE 2.6 COMPUSERVE DEUTSCHLAND
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2. In the 1990s, Germans were able to see inappropriate
images due to CompuServe, leading to a court case.
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3. The ethical dilemma is: Should the German government hold CompuServe
responsible for what customers can access, based on their current location?
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4. Many I.T. components are used in the Der Fall
Somm Case.
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5. There were four key stakeholders in this case.
1. German people/Internet users around the world: They have the right to internet
access without limits on “speech.”
1. Potential victims from viewing (or even participating in) pornography and victims
of hate speech: They have the right to not be victimized from viewing or being
involved in material deemed undesirable and damaging to society.
1.German government: They have the right to protect their citizens and rule a
guilty/not-guilty verdict for Felix Somm/CompuServe.
1.CompuServe/ Felix Somm: They have the right to make business decisions as they
see fit (blocking/unblocking material accessible via internet).
&
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6. The German Government could have taken multiple
courses of action.
1. The German Government could have placed limits on speech and held ISPs (such as
CompuServe) accountable for content filtering.
2. The German Government could have decided NOT to hold CompuServe or other ISPs
accountable for content filtering.
3. The German Government could have banned pornography and internet hate-speech
by creating a heavily filtered version of the internet (like China or North Korea).
4. The German Government could have completely banned public internet usage
altogether.
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7. Action #2 is the best approach, using a
deontological perspective.
A. Industries have the right to freely operate without being lampooned by an illegal markets.
B. ISP’s shouldn’t be held responsible so long as they do all that is possible to prevent such material,
and they intend to prevent such media distribution.(Deontological Ethics)
C. It is the duty of the German government to ensure that they protect citizens from being victimized by either
participating or viewing such damaging materials. (Kuner)
D. The ideal action is one where the ISP coordinates with the government, in which the ISP can fulfill their duty of
providing internet service , and the government can fulfill their duty of preventing the distribution of illicit media.
E. All individuals possess an innate dignity, duties and mores. It is according to these duties, and normative values
that we set categorical imperatives under which maxims or universal laws are created. An action is ethical or
unethical regardless of its consequence, but based upon the intentions.(Deontological Ethics)
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8. Action #2 is the best approach, using
a teleological perspective.
A. The German government can regulate activities they deem undesirable to maximize the wellbeing of its citizens.
The German people can freely access the web uninhibited by strict regulations comparable to countries like China.
B. This could be achieved by coordinating monitoring activities between the government and the ISP With such
coordination industries could improve on monitoring technologies that allow free access to the internet, while also
preventing the long damaging effects of illegal illicit media. (West)
C. The German government needs to find a balance, under which it penalizes those who produce and disseminate
such illegal media, without infringing upon the ability of these industries to conduct business. (Andrews)
D. Teleological ethics is primarily concerned with consequences. In which a decision is only ethical if it achieves the
greatest good for the greatest number. (Teleology)
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9. Educating the Government/Court system, enforcing the Law on the
right people and Educating people are our 3 recommendations.
• The German Court system needs a better understanding of the
internet and how an ISP works
• Second, the Laws concerning limits on speech need to be enforced
against the people who break them.
• Educate the people about the Law and educate the people making the
Law “Government” about the technology they're trying to control.
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10. Der Fall Somm 10

11. HOW IT ACTUALLY TURNED OUT
• In 1998, Somm was given a 2-year suspended
sentence and fined DM100,000
• Decision set precedent
– Other internet service providers in Germany need to censor
what its users can see
• In 1999, “… a Bavarian court ruled today that the
former top executive of CompuServe’s German
subsidiary is not guilty of distributing pornography.”
(Andrews)
– Success for ISPs
• CompuServe was purchased by AOL
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12. Works Cited
Andrews, Edmund L. "Germany Charges Compuserve Manager." The New York Times. The New York Times, 17 Apr. 1997. Web. 03 Feb. 2016.
Andrews, Edmund L. "INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS; German Court Overturns Pornography Ruling Against Compuserve." The New York Times. The New York Times, 18 Nov. 1999. Web. 3 Feb. 2016.
"Deontological Ethics." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 03 Feb. 2016.
Kunner, Christopher. "Judgment of the Munich Court in the "CompuServe Case" (Somm Case)." Judgment of the Munich Court in the "CompuServe Case" (Somm Case). Web. 03 Feb. 2016.
Paul, Richard, and Linda Elder. Critical Thinking: Concepts & Tools. Tomales, CA: Foundation for Critical Thinking, 2014. Print.
Spinello, Richard A. "CompuServe Deutschland." Case Studies in Information Technology Ethics. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2003. 48-50. Print.
"Teleology." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 03 Feb. 2016.
West, Caroline. "Pornography and Censorship." Stanford University. Stanford University, 05 May 2004. Web. 03 Feb. 2016.
Images Courtesy of:
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http://gallery.yopriceville.com/Free-Clipart-Pictures/National-Flags/Germany_Large_Flag#.VrLEzbIrJD8
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