Eportfollio Entries
Eportfollio Entry #3 : 1. Describe four ethical issues that arise when storing electronic information about individuals.
Keeping electronic records of people presents a number of ethical questions since managing personal information can affect people’s security, privacy, and general well-being. The following four moral dilemmas surround the retention of personal electronic data:
Concerns about privacy:
Description: When storing electronic data, privacy is a basic ethical concern. Organizations must make sure that information is being used for the intended objectives and that individuals have control over the use of their personal data. Rights to privacy can be violated by unauthorized access, data breaches, or improper use of personal information. This is particularly important now that technology is developing and making it possible to gather large amounts of data—often without the express permission of the subjects.
Data Security and Breach:
One of the most important ethical duties is to protect electronically stored data. Establishing strong security measures is the responsibility of organizations in order to guard against hacking, illegal access, and breaches of data. A breach can result in identity theft, financial loss, or other negative outcomes in addition to endangering people’s privacy. Investment in cybersecurity safeguards, timely vulnerability remediation, and open communication of breaches to impacted parties are all ethical obligations.
Integrity and Accuracy of Data:
It is ethically imperative to preserve the precision and soundness of digital data. Misinformation, prejudice, or unfair decision-making can result from inaccurate or falsified data, which can have serious repercussions for individuals. To guarantee the accuracy and dependability of stored data, organizations need to implement ethical data management methods, such as consistent data validation and repair procedures.
Transparency and Informed Consent:
It is ethically required to obtain persons’ informed consent prior to the collection and storage of their electronic information. People ought to be completely aware of the kinds of information being gathered, the uses to which it will be put, and any dangers that might arise from keeping it. Trust is increased between people and organizations when data practices are transparent. Behaving opaquely when using data or neglecting to get informed consent might result in ethical transgressions and trust breaches.
It takes a combination of corporate policies, legal compliance, and a dedication to moral behavior to address these ethical challenges. To respect ethical norms in the storage of electronic information about individuals, organizations must give top priority to protecting individuals’ privacy, guarantee the security of stored data, maintain data correctness, and be open and honest about their data activities.