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The ethical status of non-commercial spam

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Abstract

Much attention has been given in recent years to the moral status of commercial spam. Less attention has been focused on newer, non-commercial varieties of spam, such as spam from political parties, community sector organizations and governments. This article makes a start on evaluating the moral status of these non-commercial varieties of spam, drawing on arguments used to evaluate commercial spam.

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Abbreviations

CSO:

Civil Society Organisation

ISP:

Internet Service Provider

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Acknowledgement

I would like to thank James Moor for encouraging me to write an article on this topic, and an anonymous reviewer for highlighting the ethical importance of the mechanisms by which individuals are enabled to exercise a choice not to receive spam.

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Correspondence to Emma Rooksby.

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Rooksby, E. The ethical status of non-commercial spam. Ethics Inf Technol 9, 141–152 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10676-007-9136-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10676-007-9136-4

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