Describe four ethical issues that arise when storing electronic information about individuals.
Private data is important to users, as it contains information about them that most people don’t need to see or know. Unfortunately, problems can arise when this data is stored on electronic devices for many different reasons. Four ethical issues that are present when data is stored on electronic devices are security of the information, the information being sold to other companies, internal users peering on private information, and the type of data being collected.
Private data stored on computer servers are vulnerable to many types of malware attacks. Most companies do everything in their power to prevent data from being stolen, but breaches happen all the time. If this data is stolen, the information could be used to commit crimes such as identity theft. Not only does this tarnish the relationship with customers but the customers could suffer lasting damage such as lowered credit. This causes more work and stress for the user and monetary losses for the company.
When some companies collect data, they can sell it to other companies. Those companies then use this information for their own marketing purposes. the problem with this is that the users whose data is being sold often have no clue who or what data is being sold to other companies. Although users are “warned” about it though specific policies when they sign up, users rarely read them due to the length. This leads to data moving from company to company without proper consent.
There are many times where personal data is needed in order to enhance the user experience. However, some data, especially hospital data, can be very sensitive to the user. Things like current prescriptions or conditions are things people may not want anyone to know other than the doctor. These documents with private information could also be taken home and viewed by other people that don’t need to see it. Personal data should be handled on a need to know basis because it is unethical for unauthorized people to see it as it could potentially lead to many forms of harassment.
The type of data that is being collected is also another concern. Oftentimes you will look up something to buy then later seeing an ad about it. As soon as you accept cookies this data is stored and read from site to site. There is plenty of specific data collected that users may not know about as well. For example, Facebook advertisers can filter the audience by what pages you interact with or how frequently you buy from a Facebook ad. Companies could build a whole profile on a person without the person knowing much about it. Another controversial capture of data is google maps because they photograph your street which may include your car and anyone outside at the time the picture is taken. This data is publicly available for anyone to see.