Informed consent – How many times have you accepted a Terms of Service agreement without reading it? Do you know how your data will be used and stored once you agree? Big data has a value on it. Social Media, E-commerce websites, just about every online service collects information from all of us. That data can be sold or shared without your knowledge. It can be used to manipulate your online experience, promote products, or sold by data brokers. Furthermore, most people admit to accepting ToS agreements without ever reading them. However, once agreed to, that data can be used in ways the person did not intend. It should be the company’s responsibility to effectively communicate how their data will be stored and used.
Information Security – Security regarding stored information is important both in the ethical and legal aspect. Accessing a medical record from your computer at home is convenient. But if it’s easy for you to access, then wouldn’t it be easy for others as well? Not only is it an ethical responsibility for Health Systems to keep your information secure, but it is also required by law under standards and acts such as HIPAA. Many Healthcare systems have implemented new ways to help keep your information secure through methods such as 2FA. Institutions such as the banks and schools also have a responsibility to keep your information secure and private.
Accountability – So what happens when a company or organization storing your data is breached? Not only are businesses required to report breaches of information by law, but there is an ethical aspect to this. Not only is it the company’s ethical responsibility to do its best to prevent breaches through its security, but after a breach occurs the company needs to do its best to patch the vulnerability. The company is accountable for taking all actions to prevent a re-occurrence of the breach.
Accessibility – Accessibility of stored information is also an ethical concern. Information stored such as health records, bank statements, legal documents etc. should be easily accessible when you need them. This includes building in features to the user experience such as “Text to speech”, Pages available in multiple languages, Captions, easy and meaningful navigation and more.