Diffuse, indirect harm escapes personal moral control more easily

Evidence

Additional unique features of electronic communication technologies make them perilous if used for harmful purposes. They are readily accessible, portable, easily implementable remotely by clicks, connected worldwide for far-reaching consequences, and exceedingly difficult to control as institutions. Transgressive actions that produce diffuse outcomes via circuitous paths are also less amenable to personal control than actions that beget direct, tightly contingent outcomes. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 477 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Collective guilt can occur without any personal responsibility for the harm — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt: International…, 71; Personal and external control are interchangeable ways of warding off perceived randomness. — Dmitrij Agroskin and Eva Jonas, Controlling death by defending…, 21; Absent salient victims, moral restraints on harmful action weaken (+8 more)

Broader Connections

• Electronic harms carried out remotely escape personal moral control because outcomes stay diffuse #exemplifies (0.93) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 477