Information Ethics

The Leak from WikiLeaks

By: Zach Votroubek

As we all know the information age has brought access to all sorts of information to the internet. Some of this information might be viewed as an act of heroic liberation, while others might view the informational release as an act of terrorism. One thing is certain, we are no longer in the dark about what we read and share as long as we are willing to take the time to read and research the information. WikiLeaks has brought to many the information we have been looking for, while to others it's been viewed as an act of treason. Perhaps both are true, but what's more important is the ability to decide for yourself. Is the release of sensitive information an ethical decision?

What is WikiLeaks? In short, its a website dedicated to whistleblowers everywhere and is the very essence of freedom. Wikileaks is a non-for-profit media organization launched in 2007. According to a web archive from WikiLeaks's website the organization was established by Chinese dissidents, journalist, mathematicians, and startup company technologists, from the US, Taiwan, Europe, Australia and South Africa (WikiLeaks, 2011). Julian Assange who is labeled by many as the director or spokes person for WikiLeaks if part of the organizations public advisory board. According to WikiLeaks its advisory board is still in formation and includes courageous journalists, representatives from refugee communities, ethics and anti-corruption campaigners, including a former national head of Transparency International, human rights campaigners, lawyers and cryptographers (WikiLeaks, 2011).

Very similar to Wikipedia, although very different companies WikiLeaks is something of a news media source for documents and information submitted by all sorts of individuals. This information is reviewed and if found to be credible enough WikiLeaks will submit the information onto its wiki page. For a time, they even allowed for there to be a comments section and public edits...