There are three main connections between the movie, Unfriended: The Dark Web, and the chapter in Ethics For The Information Age, Networked Communications. To start, the majority of Unfriended takes place on a Skype call between friends. Skype is just one of the many ways we can socialize with others online. It allows up to 100 people to talk to each other at once in real-time. Without services like Skype, we would only be left with voice calls to communicate with each other in real-time. Skype improves the way we communicate remotely; talking face to face is more personal than only hearing someone’s voice. Additionally, the ability to talk to multiple people at once expands our virtual socializing abilities. It allows communication that isn’t necessarily possible in real life.
The movie also incorporates Facebook into the plot, the most popular social media network [3]. Through Facebook, billions of different accounts are able to freely communicate with one another. The characters in the movie use Facebook to call, message, and search up other people’s profiles. For example, Matias uses Facebook to look up Erica Dune. By looking at her profile, he is able to deduce that she has been kidnapped. As social media evolves, we are finding new ways in which it keeps us connected. It can provide useful information like it did for Matias, but there is always a danger of someone using this information about you maliciously.
Lastly, in the movie, we see the use of the dark net. Possibly the most dangerous of the three types of communication, the dark net plays an important part in the movie and real life. Ethics For The Information Age defines the dark web as “a network of websites that can only be accessed through special software that encrypts messages and provides users with anonymity” [3]. The dark net is ideal for criminals because they can illegally buy and sell contraband anonymously and securely. It’s a place where one “can buy credit card numbers, all manner of drugs, guns, counterfeit money, stolen subscription credentials, hacked Netflix accounts, and software that helps you break into other people’s computers” [2]. This list is just the surface of all trade going on on the dark web.
The use of the dark web is growing. The percentage of dark web users buying illegal drugs on the internet has increased from 1.2% in 2000 to 25.3% in 2014 [4]. The number of dark websites has risen 20% from 2016 [2]. One study found that “‘more than 50% of what’s hosted [on Tor] is illegal and illegitimate’” [1]. Because of how extensive and secretive the dark web is, law enforcement is struggling with tracking down and arresting those involved [1]. The dark web is certain to keep growing; therefore, to combat the rise of crime on the dark web, law enforcement needs to invest a large amount of money into hiring dark web experts and training officers across the nation on how to catch criminals on the dark web.
Resources:
Clayton Davis, Addressing the Challenges of Enforcing the Law on the Dark Web, (The University of Utah, Dec. 11, 2017), https://law.utah.edu/addressing-the-challenges-of-enforcing-the-law-on-the-dark-web/ (Oct. 9, 2022).
Darren Guccione, What is the dark web? How to access it and what you'll find, (IDG Communications, Inc., July 1, 2021), https://www.csoonline.com/article/3249765/what-is-the-dark-web-how-to-access-it-and-what-youll-find.html (Oct. 9, 2022).
Michael J. Quinn, Ethics For The Information Age (8th edition) (Pearson, 2020), 303, 304.
Pierluigi Paganini, Law Enforcement and the Dark Web: A Never-Ending Battle, (Infosec Institute, Inc., July 19, 2016), https://resources.infosecinstitute.com/topic/law-enforcement-and-the-dark-web-a-never-ending-battle/ (Oct. 9, 2022).