chapter 3

Ethics and Privacy

nEthics

deals with what is considered to be right and wrong

Deciding what is right or wrong is not always easy or clear cut

nCode of Ethics

A collection of principles that are intended to guide decision making by members of an organization.

http://www.acm.org/about/code-of-ethics

 

Ethical Issues:

 

Ethical Frameworks

nUtilitarian Approach

An ethical action is the one that provides the most good or does the least harm

nRights Approach

An ethical action is the one that best protects and respects the moral rights of affected people

n

nMoral Rights:

üThe right to make your own choices

üThe right to be told the truth

üThe right of privacy

 

Ethical Frameworks

nFairness Approach

Ethical actions treat all human beings equally, or, if unequally, then fairly , based on some defensible standard.

n

nCommon good Approach

Highlights the interlocking relationships that underlie all societies.

This approach argues that respect and compassion for all is the basis for ethical actions

 

 

Fundamental Tenets of Ethics

nResponsibility

means that you accept the consequences of your decisions and actions.

nAccountability

a determination of who is responsible for actions that were taken

nLiability

a legal concept meaning that individuals have the right to recover the damages done to them by other individuals, organizations, or systems

 

Privacy:

 

1. Privacy Issues

Privacy is the right to be left alone and to be free of unreasonable personal intrusions.

Information Privacy: the right to determine when, and to what extent, information about yourself  can be gathered and/or communicated

The right of privacy is not absolute !.       

ØYour privacy must be balanced against the needs of society.

ØThe public’s right to know is superior to the individual’s right

     of privacy.

2. Accuracy Issues

involve the authenticity, fidelity and accuracy of information that is collected and processed

3. Property Issues

involve the ownership and value of information.

4. Accessibility Issues

revolve around who should have access to information and whether they should have to pay for this access.

 

Threats to Privacy

 

nData aggregators

companies that collect public data (e.g., real estate records, telephone numbers) and nonpublic data (e.g., social security numbers, financial data, police records, motor vehicle records) and integrate them to produce digital dossiers

nDigital dossiers

an electronic description of you and your habits

 

nProfiling

use of computers to combine data from multiple sources and create digital dossiers of detailed information on individuals

 

 

 

NORA (nonobvious relationship awareness)

 new data analysis technique for even more powerful profiling

 

 

 

nElectronic Surveillance

The tracking of people‘s activities ,online or offline,

with the aid of computers.

ØCookies

ØURL filtering

Protecting Privacy

 

nPrivacy Codes and Policies

An organization’s guidelines with respect to protecting the privacy of customers, clients, and employees.

nOpt-out Model

informed consent permits the company to collect personal information until the customer specifically requests that the data not be collected.

nOpt-in Model

informed consent means that organizations are prohibited from collecting any personal information unless the customer specifically authorizes it.