Cupcat 9 | - Freelance Writer
Mar 17, 2018 | #1
Introduction
Ethics is considered to be the study of morality and differentiating between right and wrong. In simple terms, it is considered to be the study that concentrates on distinguishing between moral and immoral action and behavior and concentrates on promoting the principles of morality and good ethical conduct. It is important for the human society, which has entered the age of information and technology. Information technology has changed the way human society works and has allowed scientists, researchers and academics to reach new horizons and to discover new territories. Key ethical issues in information technology domain include privacy invasion, disclosure of information, spamming, etc. The goal of this paper is to analyze ethics in information technology in the lights of broad and diverse academic resources. Furthermore, it will discuss the information technology issues in the lights of ethical theories to understand them comprehensively.
The Divine Command Theory has been derived from three main religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. These three religions believe that God is the Master and Creator of the Universe and that human beings have been created by Him. According to the Divine Command Theory, a moral action is considered to be the action according to the will of God and an immoral action is against His will. The Holy Books are used for determining morality and therefore, act as moral and ethical guide. From this theory, God is considered to be the Absolute being and therefore, human beings must obey him. He is the Creator of the universe and therefore, human beings have the obligation to abide by His rules, which He has mentioned in the holy books. God is All-Knowing and All-Powerful and therefore, ethical behavior and morality are aligned with His will.
God is the Ultimate authority and therefore, the goal of human beings is to create a society where His laws of morality will be applied. Examples of ethical issues and dilemmas in information technology include violation of intellectual property rights, invading privacy and using personal information of other individuals without their consent. Since the Divine Command Theory asserts that good action is based on the will of God and a bad action is against His will, this shows that human beings have the duty to ensure that they do not commit such acts by misusing information technology. Violation of intellectual property rights include sharing of copyrighted materials online, plagiarism, hacking emails, credit card fraud and sharing personal information of individuals online. For example, a person who takes part of in an online survey, has to give his or her email address, personal information and other data. There is a possibility that personal information can be shared to third party. In this case, the person who is sharing the data has failed to abide the rules of God and has been shared the information of another individual without his or her consent. This is an immoral action. In the same manner, sharing of a software that is copyrighted, is an unethical behavior. Following the commands of God is necessary in accordance to the Divine Command Theory and therefore, the Holy Scriptures clearly property and privacy protection to all human beings.
As mentioned earlier, ethics is vital for human society. With the advent of new information technology devices such as android phones, smart devices and tablets, portable MP4 players, laptops and availability of internet, the way humans live and how they interact with one another has changed completely. There is no doubt that information technology is responsible for bringing several positive changes, but it has also brought several problems with it.
Intellectual property rights are the rights that the owner has over his or her work, which may be a poetry, article, book, software, movies or songs. Intellectual property rights are frequently violated over the internet as pirated versions of movies, software and songs are readily available in the form of torrent files. In the same manner, articles or books are also readily available to students. In certain cases, students copy-paste sentences or paragraphs without crediting the original author and pass it as their own work, which is known as plagiarism. Peer to peer networks are also used for sharing of files and are used by individuals to share copyrighted material. Popular cases include Apple Computers lawsuit against Franklin Computer Stores, Sega's lawsuit against Accolade, Authors Guild lawsuit against Google Books for copyright infringement, etc. To protect intellectual property rights, legislations must protect intellectual property rights and at the same time, place a ban of sites that are engaged in copyright infringement.
Information is stored on the internet in the form of databases and includes credit card information and usage, purchasing details, etc. In other cases, individuals take part in online surveys and reveal their personal details such as name, address, phone number, email address. Information is also stored on social media networks websites such as Facebook Tags. These personal details can be used by third parties and therefore, it is an unethical practice. Although users give out their information voluntarily, this information is readily available to third parties, who can misuse them for their own commercial purpose. In this case, legislation must be strong enough to ensure that the information is not shared by third parties. If this is the case, then it is recommended that legislation is strong enough to protect sensitive information. Using private information of the user without permission must be classified as a cyber-crime.
Quinn, privacy is the "prudential right" of the individual. However, violation of privacy is frequently observed in workplaces, where employers use hidden cameras to monitor their employees. Furthermore, certain employers also monitor personal email accounts, Facebook accounts, personal details and internet usage of employees. These activities are considered to be unethical as employers violate the privacy of employees. To protect privacy rights, it is essential that employers inform their employees that they are being monitored for legal purposes.
Information technology is constantly being misused and therefore, it is essential to address such issues. On basis of Kantianism, actions must be governed by the moral laws as they are absolute and universal in nature. Furthermore, the concept of rationality and rational behavior is applied on all individuals and therefore, morality must be based on the concept of rationality. In the lights of Kantianism, logical reasoning is the basis of ethical behavior and action and therefore, it asserts that the individual has the obligation to do what is right and stop himself or herself from something that is wrong. Spamming, copyright infringement, sharing of personal details with third parties, invading privacy, etc., are all immoral actions and human beings should not engage such acts. By doing so, they are ignoring their sense of duty. On basis of Kantianism, ethical issues in information technology can be stopped and controlled if individuals realize their sense of obligation.
An existing legislation related to ethical computing is the Data Protection Directive, which is operational in European Union and its member states. According to this regulation, personal data of individual includes email addresses, social media activities and IP address. This directive concentrates on protecting the privacy of individual data and asserts that privacy is the basic right of the individual living in European Union. According to this directive, an individual has the right to enjoy privacy. The Directive provides guidelines for the protection of data and asserts that all individuals must be notified when their data is being collected. Furthermore, it prohibits disclosure of data without the consent of the individual. It emphasizes on the fact that data should not be used for other purposed. It prohibits the sharing of data with third parties. According to this legislation, personal data collection can only be carried if it has legal significance. Individuals or organizations cannot misuse personal data and share it with third parties in accordance to this directive as data owners enjoy protection rights as identified by the legislation. The vast amount of persona data is shared among individuals and business organizations and therefore, common legislation had been set up the European Union to protect privacy right and sharing of information of individuals.
In the lights of Kantianism, privacy is the right of the individual and therefore, it is the obligation of human beings to do the right action. In this case, privacy of individuals should not be violated and their information must not be shared by third parties. The Data Protection Directive shows that the protection of personal information and right of privacy is a sensitive issue and therefore, it's sharing and disclosure is an unethical conduct. If information is shared with third parties, the right of privacy is invaded. From Kantianism perspective, data sharing is unethical conduct.
Ethical codes of information technology are considered to be frameworks that can be used by information technology users, organizations and researchers to maintain ethics in the information technology domain.
Ethical codes of information technology concentrate on identifying and addressing the ethical and unethical behaviors and ensuring that information technology is not misused. Ethical codes across culture vary from one another because of cultural background, cultural beliefs and geography. For instance, ethical codes of information technology in countries such as Saudi Arabia or Iran do not allow users to express their opinion against the government. For instance, if a user has spoken against the government on a blog or Facebook page or website, it will be banned by the government.
Furthermore, there is a possibility that individual would also be sent to jail. This suggests that ethical codes of information technology vary from one region to another. In the same manner, ethical codes of information technology in United States and United Kingdom allow free speech and therefore, allow users to express their opinion on any subject they wish to discuss.
There is a need to address the differences in code of ethics in the information technology domain and therefore, there is need to develop a code, which can be globally applied and accepted by all cultures.
1. To develop an international code of ethics for information technology, it is essential that the similarities of code of ethics of different cultures are brought together under one umbrella and the differences are discarded.
2. Based on similarities, the ethical conduct and actions must be identified. Ethical codes in information technology must be based on the principles of virtue ethics and to ensure that ethical actions are inspired by morality and ethical behavior.
3. Differences must be kept aside and respected.
Conclusion
Ethic is considered to be the study of morality and immorality. Popular ethical theories include unilateralism, social contract theory, divine command theory, Kantianism and relativism. Information technology ethical issues are those issues in which technology is being misused. These issues include spamming, invasion of privacy, disclosure of information and violation of intellectual property rights. Ethical legislations are needed to maintain and promote ethics in the information technology domain and to stop the misuse of information technology. Furthermore, there is need to develop an international code of ethics for information technology domain.
REFERENCES
Quinn, Michael J. Ethics for the Information Age. Pearson Addison Wesley. 5th Edition.
Mujica, A., Petry, E., & Vickery, D. A future for technology and ethics. Business & Society Review, 104 (3), 279-290
Turilli, M., and L. Floridi. 2009. The ethics of information transparency. Ethics and Information Technology 11(2): 105-12.
Schwartz, Mark S.: Effective Corporate Codes of Ethics: Perceptions of Code User. Journal of Business Ethics. 55, 323-343 (2004).
M.G. Martinsons and D. Ma (2009) "Sub-Cultural Differences in Information Ethics across China: Focus On Chinese Management Generation Gaps", Journal of the Association of Information Systems 10.11, 957-973.
E. Elrod and M. Smith (2005). "Information Ethics", in Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics, ed. by Carl Mitcham. Vol. 2: D-K (1004-1011). Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA.
Stocker, Michael. "The Schizophrenia of Modern Ethical Theories." Journal of Philosophy 14 (2006): 453-466
Ethics is considered to be the study of morality and differentiating between right and wrong. In simple terms, it is considered to be the study that concentrates on distinguishing between moral and immoral action and behavior and concentrates on promoting the principles of morality and good ethical conduct. It is important for the human society, which has entered the age of information and technology. Information technology has changed the way human society works and has allowed scientists, researchers and academics to reach new horizons and to discover new territories. Key ethical issues in information technology domain include privacy invasion, disclosure of information, spamming, etc. The goal of this paper is to analyze ethics in information technology in the lights of broad and diverse academic resources. Furthermore, it will discuss the information technology issues in the lights of ethical theories to understand them comprehensively.
Divine Command Theory and Information Technology Issues
The Divine Command Theory has been derived from three main religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. These three religions believe that God is the Master and Creator of the Universe and that human beings have been created by Him. According to the Divine Command Theory, a moral action is considered to be the action according to the will of God and an immoral action is against His will. The Holy Books are used for determining morality and therefore, act as moral and ethical guide. From this theory, God is considered to be the Absolute being and therefore, human beings must obey him. He is the Creator of the universe and therefore, human beings have the obligation to abide by His rules, which He has mentioned in the holy books. God is All-Knowing and All-Powerful and therefore, ethical behavior and morality are aligned with His will.
God is the Ultimate authority and therefore, the goal of human beings is to create a society where His laws of morality will be applied. Examples of ethical issues and dilemmas in information technology include violation of intellectual property rights, invading privacy and using personal information of other individuals without their consent. Since the Divine Command Theory asserts that good action is based on the will of God and a bad action is against His will, this shows that human beings have the duty to ensure that they do not commit such acts by misusing information technology. Violation of intellectual property rights include sharing of copyrighted materials online, plagiarism, hacking emails, credit card fraud and sharing personal information of individuals online. For example, a person who takes part of in an online survey, has to give his or her email address, personal information and other data. There is a possibility that personal information can be shared to third party. In this case, the person who is sharing the data has failed to abide the rules of God and has been shared the information of another individual without his or her consent. This is an immoral action. In the same manner, sharing of a software that is copyrighted, is an unethical behavior. Following the commands of God is necessary in accordance to the Divine Command Theory and therefore, the Holy Scriptures clearly property and privacy protection to all human beings.Ethical Issues in Information Technology
As mentioned earlier, ethics is vital for human society. With the advent of new information technology devices such as android phones, smart devices and tablets, portable MP4 players, laptops and availability of internet, the way humans live and how they interact with one another has changed completely. There is no doubt that information technology is responsible for bringing several positive changes, but it has also brought several problems with it.
Intellectual property rights are the rights that the owner has over his or her work, which may be a poetry, article, book, software, movies or songs. Intellectual property rights are frequently violated over the internet as pirated versions of movies, software and songs are readily available in the form of torrent files. In the same manner, articles or books are also readily available to students. In certain cases, students copy-paste sentences or paragraphs without crediting the original author and pass it as their own work, which is known as plagiarism. Peer to peer networks are also used for sharing of files and are used by individuals to share copyrighted material. Popular cases include Apple Computers lawsuit against Franklin Computer Stores, Sega's lawsuit against Accolade, Authors Guild lawsuit against Google Books for copyright infringement, etc. To protect intellectual property rights, legislations must protect intellectual property rights and at the same time, place a ban of sites that are engaged in copyright infringement.
Information is stored on the internet in the form of databases and includes credit card information and usage, purchasing details, etc. In other cases, individuals take part in online surveys and reveal their personal details such as name, address, phone number, email address. Information is also stored on social media networks websites such as Facebook Tags. These personal details can be used by third parties and therefore, it is an unethical practice. Although users give out their information voluntarily, this information is readily available to third parties, who can misuse them for their own commercial purpose. In this case, legislation must be strong enough to ensure that the information is not shared by third parties. If this is the case, then it is recommended that legislation is strong enough to protect sensitive information. Using private information of the user without permission must be classified as a cyber-crime.
Quinn, privacy is the "prudential right" of the individual. However, violation of privacy is frequently observed in workplaces, where employers use hidden cameras to monitor their employees. Furthermore, certain employers also monitor personal email accounts, Facebook accounts, personal details and internet usage of employees. These activities are considered to be unethical as employers violate the privacy of employees. To protect privacy rights, it is essential that employers inform their employees that they are being monitored for legal purposes.
Information technology is constantly being misused and therefore, it is essential to address such issues. On basis of Kantianism, actions must be governed by the moral laws as they are absolute and universal in nature. Furthermore, the concept of rationality and rational behavior is applied on all individuals and therefore, morality must be based on the concept of rationality. In the lights of Kantianism, logical reasoning is the basis of ethical behavior and action and therefore, it asserts that the individual has the obligation to do what is right and stop himself or herself from something that is wrong. Spamming, copyright infringement, sharing of personal details with third parties, invading privacy, etc., are all immoral actions and human beings should not engage such acts. By doing so, they are ignoring their sense of duty. On basis of Kantianism, ethical issues in information technology can be stopped and controlled if individuals realize their sense of obligation.
Legislations and Ethical Computing
An existing legislation related to ethical computing is the Data Protection Directive, which is operational in European Union and its member states. According to this regulation, personal data of individual includes email addresses, social media activities and IP address. This directive concentrates on protecting the privacy of individual data and asserts that privacy is the basic right of the individual living in European Union. According to this directive, an individual has the right to enjoy privacy. The Directive provides guidelines for the protection of data and asserts that all individuals must be notified when their data is being collected. Furthermore, it prohibits disclosure of data without the consent of the individual. It emphasizes on the fact that data should not be used for other purposed. It prohibits the sharing of data with third parties. According to this legislation, personal data collection can only be carried if it has legal significance. Individuals or organizations cannot misuse personal data and share it with third parties in accordance to this directive as data owners enjoy protection rights as identified by the legislation. The vast amount of persona data is shared among individuals and business organizations and therefore, common legislation had been set up the European Union to protect privacy right and sharing of information of individuals.
In the lights of Kantianism, privacy is the right of the individual and therefore, it is the obligation of human beings to do the right action. In this case, privacy of individuals should not be violated and their information must not be shared by third parties. The Data Protection Directive shows that the protection of personal information and right of privacy is a sensitive issue and therefore, it's sharing and disclosure is an unethical conduct. If information is shared with third parties, the right of privacy is invaded. From Kantianism perspective, data sharing is unethical conduct.
Ethical Codes of Information Technology: Cultural Perspective
Ethical codes of information technology are considered to be frameworks that can be used by information technology users, organizations and researchers to maintain ethics in the information technology domain.
Ethical codes of information technology concentrate on identifying and addressing the ethical and unethical behaviors and ensuring that information technology is not misused. Ethical codes across culture vary from one another because of cultural background, cultural beliefs and geography. For instance, ethical codes of information technology in countries such as Saudi Arabia or Iran do not allow users to express their opinion against the government. For instance, if a user has spoken against the government on a blog or Facebook page or website, it will be banned by the government.
Furthermore, there is a possibility that individual would also be sent to jail. This suggests that ethical codes of information technology vary from one region to another. In the same manner, ethical codes of information technology in United States and United Kingdom allow free speech and therefore, allow users to express their opinion on any subject they wish to discuss.
Recommendations
There is a need to address the differences in code of ethics in the information technology domain and therefore, there is need to develop a code, which can be globally applied and accepted by all cultures.
1. To develop an international code of ethics for information technology, it is essential that the similarities of code of ethics of different cultures are brought together under one umbrella and the differences are discarded.
2. Based on similarities, the ethical conduct and actions must be identified. Ethical codes in information technology must be based on the principles of virtue ethics and to ensure that ethical actions are inspired by morality and ethical behavior.
3. Differences must be kept aside and respected.
Conclusion
Ethic is considered to be the study of morality and immorality. Popular ethical theories include unilateralism, social contract theory, divine command theory, Kantianism and relativism. Information technology ethical issues are those issues in which technology is being misused. These issues include spamming, invasion of privacy, disclosure of information and violation of intellectual property rights. Ethical legislations are needed to maintain and promote ethics in the information technology domain and to stop the misuse of information technology. Furthermore, there is need to develop an international code of ethics for information technology domain.
REFERENCES
Quinn, Michael J. Ethics for the Information Age. Pearson Addison Wesley. 5th Edition.
Mujica, A., Petry, E., & Vickery, D. A future for technology and ethics. Business & Society Review, 104 (3), 279-290
Turilli, M., and L. Floridi. 2009. The ethics of information transparency. Ethics and Information Technology 11(2): 105-12.
Schwartz, Mark S.: Effective Corporate Codes of Ethics: Perceptions of Code User. Journal of Business Ethics. 55, 323-343 (2004).
M.G. Martinsons and D. Ma (2009) "Sub-Cultural Differences in Information Ethics across China: Focus On Chinese Management Generation Gaps", Journal of the Association of Information Systems 10.11, 957-973.
E. Elrod and M. Smith (2005). "Information Ethics", in Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics, ed. by Carl Mitcham. Vol. 2: D-K (1004-1011). Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA.
Stocker, Michael. "The Schizophrenia of Modern Ethical Theories." Journal of Philosophy 14 (2006): 453-466