The ethical validity of the storage of individuals electronic information has been up for debate for many years now. The argument of one’s information, stockpiled in a database to be accessed with ease, makes it a convenience. While others would argue that an individual’s information is THEIRS and shouldn’t be held onto by others. You can argue that either side is correct in its statements but overall, there are some ethical concerns that need to be addressed. For instance, privacy concerns. The risk of data breaches is quite common in today’s technological landscape. In 2023, there were over 3200 data compromises in the United States alone, many of which involved data being stored in cloud servers. This raises concerns with individuals due to the inherent threats of identity theft, unauthorized access to their information and online stalking. Another concern, that goes hand in hand with the first, is the security of one’s data. Whatever organization that has possession of people’s data, has a responsibility to protect and secure it. Seeing as there were thousands of data breaches last year, it doesn’t instill confidence in the masses. They may start to believe that the organizations are not doing enough to secure data or simply do not care enough. Another concern is the actual ownership of one’s data. Many organizations collect and store data and have been shown to sell it to other companies to increase traffic and to tailor algorithms to individuals based off their search histories, online purchases etc. A major example of this is when Facebook’s parent company, META, came under fire for selling user data to overseas companies/countries. The last concern is the monitoring of individuals from the data that is collected. The United States has a bill of rights that specifically protects its citizens from unlawful search and seizure of property which includes data. However, under the guise of security and safety, surveillance practices are conducted on many. This raises ethical concerns about individual autonomy, freedom, and privacy.