Analysis
Understanding the scope
Nowadays most computer-human interaction happens through the Internet; however, data that was originally gather by other means can be digitalized and ended up being mined. Minable information, produced by people and therefore subject to the ethical issues discuss in here, can be divided in 4 different categories: user input, usage, information derived from devices, and images.
User input: is all the information that is explicitly added in a way or another. This includes personal information (name, address telephone, age, gender, marital status etc.), comments, opinions, text messages, emails and documents. In addition to previously presented examples, some companies, like Geofeedia (https://geofeedia.com), scan social medial traffic, text messaging, and geolocation services to identify abnormalities like terrorist acts, natural events, or accidents. The system detects, through data mining algorithms, keywords contained in the messages related with these events in transmission within areas in close proximity. In the case of medical records, this information also includes information about illnesses, treatment, or clinical history.
Usage: This is information that the user is not aware of most of the time, but the service provider logs, keeps track of, process and acts upon on. This information provides clues about what the user preferences, and likes are. It is used most of the time as feedback to improve the service, but it is most
Personal data are regulated by United Nations and urges States to implement effective measures to ensure that information concerning a person´s private life does not reach the hands of person who are not authorized by law to receive,process and use it.Thus private data are protected not only by law of States also by international laws, and concerning computer misuse
He then uses ethos by discussing his role as “an operator of a small government-transparency Web site,” who does good for his site’s visitors when there is enough money to do so. Harper is a founding member of the Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee for the Department of Homeland Security and an expert in the legal complications surrounding new technologies. He offers us this role to persuade readers to perceive him as a trustworthy person. Harper begins his essay by stating that if you surf the Web, you are part of the information economy. His essay, which was published in the Wall Street Journal, argues that the business models and opportunities used to customize advertising justifies the use of data mining. Because of advertising and the use of cookies, which are files used to track users in order to customize their experiences, companies such as Google are able to spend millions of dollars on free
There is a lurking ethical issue that is facing contemporary society and that has already started to affect the military, but has the potential to grow even more monstrous. Online privacy or internet privacy is the root of this issue and “following the revelations of widespread data collection by the United States government, among others, the public has to decide whether to push for legislation that would safeguard their online privacy, and which criteria, if any, should first be met by government agencies before invading civilians' privacy”.
Time Newspaper has learnt that it's not surprising that Internet companies have electronic dossiers that contain personal information for individuals who subscribe to the websites. Generally, these companies have obtained the information from people based on individual's visit to the website, sent and received emails, tagged photos, and searches people carry out. However, the extent of personal information known by these Internet companies has remained largely unknown as well who they provide and/or sell this information to. However, Internet companies continue to gather lots of personal information from different people who focus on carrying out online activities on a daily basis. Currently, it's estimated that these firms gather personal information from nearly 500 million users but are hesitant to provide this information to the other firms or individuals. As their unwillingness to share has attracted significant congressional inquiry, things could finally change in California following the introduction of a bill that may force companies to disclose the kind of personal information they have gathered and how this information is being used.
The problem to be investigated is the ethical use of Information Technology (IT) in today’s world. In the past, the information technology advancements had limited impact on societies and cultures. However, in today’s world, information technology is almost part of every business, educational institute, and even personal activity (Brooks, 2010). This paper presents the power of information technology field and whether developing a code of ethics would be worthwhile to focus on the challenges in the usage of information technology.
Online technologies are beneficial to the modern world. It can improve a person’s education, business, and helps in everyday life hassles. It has become an essential part of the way that people live and it is very likely that people would be a loss without it. In “Ethics and the New Genetics,” the Dalai Lama claims that to ethically use new technological advancements we need to develop a “moral compass”. Peter Singer, in “Visible Man: Ethics in a World without Secrets,” discusses whether new technology and “openness” makes our lives better, or if the lack of privacy takes away the rights of individuals. Both authors discuss how technology is advancing very rapidly and can significantly have major pros and cons to society. The two authors, however, have different viewpoints in which how the society can determine when technology has become ethical. Dalai Lama is firm believer that technology is evolving so fast that ethics could hardly keep up with it. He addresses how people should have ethical standards when dealing with the internet. Thus, he is directly proving to us how he would want society to ethically determine when and how technology should be used. Yet, on another spectrum, Peter Singer argues that although ethically, internet is invading our privacy, this invasion of privacy is the only way that the public is safe and people should brutally discover the truth about everything but somehow it can cause harm. Peter Singer and Dalai Lama both agree how the new online
This paper discusses the ethical issues that may arise in the creation, distribution, and use of metadata. To do this, one must first understand what metadata is, and have a reasonable understanding of how it is used today. Metadata is not a word that the average person can state a definition for. In fact, even many technologically inclined people may not have a sound idea of what exactly metadata means. Although many people don’t recognize the name, metadata, many people look at, use, or even create metadata on a daily basis. To truly appreciate how important metadata is one must have a firm grasp on what metadata allows and how difficult information
The reason Nicholas Carr wrote this article is to inform people of the danger of Internet overuse through his use of ethos, logos, and pathos, along with other rhetorical devices. He starts with a scene from a classic movie that dealt with the prevalence of technology, 2001: A Space Odyssey. He shows that with the technological advances of today, the line between human and computer has starts to grey.
This past week’s course work was focused on privacy as it relates to ethics in information technology, privacy protection and key privacy issues. We have learned from our text, research and discussion board collaborations that an individual’s privacy is not fully protected from a legal perspective, that government and businesses must protect how data is saved and who is allowed to access educational, medical, or any personally identifiable information (PII) that can contribute to privacy and anonymity issues. That as an individual, we must take action in securing and protecting our PII to prevent malicious acts such as identity theft.
Legal and ethical issues in computing are not as straight forward as one expects, these two comprehensive concepts can be divided into many sub-sections such as computer Ethics which is a moral standard used as a guideline for computer users, Code of ethics is a guideline in ICT, intellectual property is the own work that is created by individuals, privacy refers to the rights that individual and companies have and how their data is collected and restricted to outside sources, computer crime is an illegal act that involves computers and finally cyber law which is laws that are related to helping protect the internet and other online communication.
Information gathering, through networking, social media, and both on and offline storage have made it easier to collect information about an individual than ever before, with many concerns having arisen over the years about privacy and the ability to protect that privacy. As debates over personally identifiable information continue, one cornerstone remains a constant, ethics. Ethics are defined as “the standard by which human actions can be judged right and wrong (Online, 2012)”, but even that can be debated when discussed within the realm of information technology. Have you ever been to an internet shopping site and “trusted” the secure connection? Essentially, you are entrusting an inanimate system developed by an individual or group
Ever since day one, people have been developing and creating all sorts of new methods and machines to help better everyday life in one way or another. Who can forget the invention of the ever-wondrous telephone? And we can’t forget how innovative and life-changing computers have been. However, while all machines have their positive uses, there can also be many negatives depending on how one uses said machines, wiretapping in on phone conversations, using spyware to quietly survey every keystroke and click one makes, and many other methods of unwanted snooping have arisen. As a result, laws have been made to make sure these negative uses are not taken advantage of by anyone. But because of how often technology changes, how can it be
With the advent of mobile phones, iPad and other smart technology, accessing information across the web has become very easy. You can sit at home and pay your phone bills, or talk to someone from across the world. Along with these benefits, it has also become easier to get access to information that would otherwise be restricted. In recent years, debates have taken place regarding the concern of the privacy of information that is uploaded on the internet, or that is taken from it. This research paper aims at comparing the controversies that surround the concept of privacy in the digital age.
As technology is advancing in this digital age so is the need to protected people’s privacy and to keep their personal information confidential. As Michael McFarland, of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics noted “Reverence for the human person as an end in itself and as an autonomous being requires respect for personal privacy. To lose control of one 's personal information is in some measure to lose control of one 's life and one 's dignity. Therefore, even if privacy is not in itself a fundamental right, it is necessary to protect other fundamental rights” (Michael McFarland, 2012). It is in the light of this that the ethical dilemma of whether smartphone manufacturer has the right to track their customer location is the focus of this paper. People’s personal and sensitive information such as medical records, court records, financial records and geolocation information should be protected and held confidential. Today manufacturer of smartphone embedded beacon in their device which transmits their customer location. The location data collected are notably used as part of providing services or for contextual advertising (Electronic Frontier Foundation, 2016).
In the early years of computers and computerized technology, computer engineers had to believe that their contribution to the development of computer technology would produce positive impacts on the people that would use it. During the infancy of computer technology, ethical issues concerning computer technology were almost nonexistent because computers back then were not as multifaceted as they are today. However, ethical issues relating to computer technology and cyber technology is undeniable in today’s society. Computer technology plays a crucial role in all aspects of our daily lives. Different forms of computer technology provide unique functionalities that allow people to perform daily activities effectively and efficiently. In