The Privacy Pitfalls of Zuckerberg’s Metaverse

Mark Zuckerberg’s unveiling of his metaverse, a virtual reality (VR) environment created by Meta (previously Facebook), has garnered a lot of attention. Zuckerberg’s rebranding of Facebook as Meta signals its aim to build a new version of the internet, one based on people interacting with each other via VR headsets.  What is the Metaverse? The…

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The Challenges of Online Therapy

In light of the coronavirus pandemic, online therapy has become a popular option for many who are struggling. Mental health issues have understandably been on the rise as a result of the pandemic, with the biggest increases in depression and anxiety taking place during the periods of strict lockdown, which comes as no surprise. These…

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The Ethics of Cheating a Drug Test

In many different contexts, you will be required to take a drug test – testing for specific drugs, legal or illegal – and testing positive for any of the prohibited substances will result in some form of non-entry (non-entry into a job, a sporting competition, or a scientific study), or a ban (e.g. being banned…

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The Ethical, Psychological, and Social Implications of Mass Surveillance

In 2013, the whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed that the British spy agency, the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), tapped fibre-optic cables for access to our personal communications (including emails, Facebook posts, internet histories, and phone calls), and then shared this information with the National Security Agency (NSA), the major spy agency in the US. The Snowden…

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New Surveillance Bill Puts All of Our Privacy at Risk

David Cameron and Home Secretary Theresa May have assured us that the Data Retention and Investigation Powers Bill (DRIP) does not give the government new surveillance powers. Yet despite these assurances, privacy campaigners, civil liberties groups and lawyers argue that this new Bill – also known as the ‘snoopers’ charter’ – gives the government exactly these…

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