Describe four ethical issues that arise when storing electronic information about individuals

The storage of personal information is not something to take likely as the leaking of such data could be potentially life changing (and not in a good way). When looking at the storage of personal data, companies have to consider many ethical issues including: privacy, misuse, responsibility, and storage.

1. Privacy is likely the biggest thing to consider when taking into account ethics and morality in relation to storage of electronic data. The right to be free from observation is a something most take for granted and is a right that is relatively hard to safeguard in the modern era. It’s no secret that many of the companies and organizations that we are familiar with collect our data, but the question of ethics comes in when we ask “how, why, and when are they collecting our data?” One of the most notable cases of privacy being violated in relation to modern technology would be the “Webcam Gate” scandal (in Robbins v. Lower Merion School District), where a school secretly spied on its students using webcams on school issued laptops.
2. Misuse of data, like privacy, seems to be relatively hard to safeguard against. This is likely due to the fact ethics in modern technology and the storing of data is something that is always changing due to the changes in society. Again, it is no secret that companies are collecting user data and in many cases user’s seem to be fine with that (enhances the user experience). User’s get to see more content they like, companies get to sell more stuff through targeted ads. However, improper handling of data is a common occurrence, whether that be failing to implement proper cybersecurity and being negligent, or that they have more malicious intent. Facebook has been at the forefront of internet ethics with slip-ups such as the Cambridge Analytica data scandal.
3. This brings us to the irresponsibility of many modern companies and the handling of data. Irresponsibility ties in relatively closely with misuse and cause many problems for both companies and the consumer. Consumers will lose trust in a company as they trust them to handle their data, and companies in return will lose their consumer base.
4. Proper storage is exactly what it sounds like. Companies need to make sure that whatever median they are using to store data is up-to-date and well protected. 100% protection is nearly impossible, but that doesn’t mean they can’t try.