Unethical Website of the Month February 2005

Oh, it's still out there in cyberspace. The problem is that it belongs to a very defensive company, so it uses threats of litigation to bully operations like The Ethics Scoreboard into keeping its name off the web.

Being combative by nature (and also a lawyer), and recognizing that there was nothing in the commentary that once occupied this space that could be reasonably called "defamatory," I have a hard time resisting the impulse to call the company's bluff and head to court if necessary. But that would be foolhardy. I have neither the time nor the resources to be an avenging angel on this issue. The individuals put at risk by the website in question were never likely to read my commentary, and besides, there are other critics of this company's business on the case, and they are better equipped to do battle. And there are thousands of ethical issues that I want to explore here. The exposure of one unethical website is simply not worth diverting my efforts, even for a while.

Meanwhile, I recommend that you read the Scoreboard commentary at http://ethicsscoreboard.com/list/morton.html, which discusses the unethical legal tactic of using threats and superior financial resources to bend others to someone's will. It is relevant to why the February Unethical Website has disappeared. As my letter to the lawyer for the website's parent concluded:

That [your company] would engage in such bullying tactics is hardly surprising: it is a well-accepted principle that a company that willfully violates some ethical principles will have no problem violating others. But you should be ashamed of yourself.

But be proud too: your deceitful letter will have the desired affect. I will take down the article. And, to paraphrase Winston Churchill, my website will move on to other pressing matters, and your website will still be unethical.

See unethical sites from other months