Storing information digitally is vital to everyday works. Whether it is just a company keeping basic information on their employees to these same companies collecting information on their users who access their websites, whether legally or illegally, it is difficult to decide when a line should be drawn on what is allowed to be stored or viewed.

Companies that store information about their users can already be in trouble ethically depending on who they ask, however a basic issue that can arise is that nobody knows someone else’s true intentions. A company can alert the user that their phone number may be stored to send messages for sales on their products, while also turning around and selling it to someone that pays them a lot of money to acquire your phone number, who can then spread it to whoever they like. This in mind will make it difficult for a user to agree to anything, so companies try to reassure their users by explaining what the information taken and stored will be so that they can ease user’s hearts and present their intentions. However there will always be someone that lies and proceeds to sell the information they acquire.

Another ethical issue that presents itself is that of government issues. Say a person who is wanted for a warrant or some other issue, and the government or police request the company to give up their personal information. While sometimes this is for the best, as it helps put criminals away. This can also be an issue since it is possible for someone to impersonate as a government official or someone with authority, therefore getting access to an innocent person’s information. Another issue this raises is the question if these people with authority are ethically allowed to do this, as private information for a lot of individuals expect it to be private.

A third ethical issue that arises is that nobody expects their information to be stored for long. Websites and companies store user’s information on their servers daily, mostly without these users realizing. While they may not be planning to do anything illegal with the information mined, the fact lies that they still have acquired and stored information from and about users without their knowledge. Companies may go out and explain that they require to extract information for their features to work, or to make the website more friendly to users, however all it takes is for a hacker to breach the company in order for everything to be stolen.

A final ethical issue is the way the information taken is how data is anonymized. Data being anonymized is when that information has certain details removed. Instead of keeping information anonymous, companies may leave in key factors that help others in identifying who the information belongs to, which leads to information leaks.