Ethics

I don't know how many people out there are aware of the move that eBay is presently making in Australia. At present, eBay is applying for immunity from prosecution under the Trade Practices Act. They intend to limit payment options on eBay to Cash on Delivery (COD) and Paypal. For a good portion of online business COD is not an option; so in effect, they intend to limit eBay users to Paypal.

Japan has recently seen a slew of suicides using hydrogen sulfide gas. The technique for generating the gas, which was posted on various Internet sites, made use of common household products (one of which was a sulfur containing bath cleaner). Japan has the highest rate of suicide in the developed world and to a certain extent it is an acceptable practice, however, the recent spate of gas suicides is raising eyebrows around the country for a number of reasons.

Suicide by hydrogen sulfide endangers other people. They are generating a highly toxic substance in conditions that are not suited to containing it. The gas typically escapes, sickening relatives and or neighbors. Recently, some people have worked around this by posting notes and generating the gas in vehicles, but it still poses a risk to rescuers.

The means of suicide has been promoted, if you will, via the Internet. This is where the moral issue comes into it for me. I would presume that the people posting the information as to how to generate hydrogen sulfide are not all killing themselves. I fail to see the what motivation anyone could have in helping a healthy human being end their life. There has been a significant push to have sites containing the information taken offline and for one of the first times in my life, I find myself agreeing with such a move.

I am not advocating censorship by any means and am not one of the desperate times call for desperate measures types. My position on this is that it is an unprecedented situation that is having a devestating impact on the community. Mainstream ISPs are, in this case, doing the right thing by taking the websites down. They serve no useful purpose and the are wreaking untold harm on the young and impressionable. "What next?" is a question that many people might well be asking, but a swift and decisive response might just be enough to save a few lives.