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ETHICAL ISSUES

INTRODUCTION to E-COMMERCE (COMM1Q)

Ethical Issues: source;

Laudon & Laudon, Management Information Systems 7th Edn., Prentice-Hall, 1998

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ETHICS ARE...

PRINCIPLES OF RIGHT AND WRONG

USED TO GUIDE BEHAVIOR….

USED BY INDIVIDUALS, AS FREE MORAL AGENTS...

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ETHICS IN AN INFORMATION SOCIETY

• RESPONSIBILITY: Accepting costs, duties, obligations for decisions

• ACCOUNTABILITY: Assessing responsibilities for decisions & actions

• LIABILITY: Must pay for legal damages• DUE PROCESS: Insures laws are applied

properly

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• INFORMATION RIGHTS & OBLIGATIONS

• PROPERTY RIGHTS

• ACCOUNTABILITY & CONTROL

• SYSTEM QUALITY

• QUALITY OF LIFE

MORAL DIMENSIONS OF THE INFORMATION SOCIETY

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INDIVIDUAL

SOCIETY

STATE/POLITY

ETHICAL ISSUES

SOCIAL ISSUES

POLITICAL ISSUES

INFORMATION RIGHTS & OBLIGATIONS

PROPERTY RIGHTS & OBLIGATIONS

GOVERNANCEPUBLIC SAFETY& WELFARE

ETHICAL, SOCIAL & POLITICAL ISSUES

INTERNET & E-

COMMERCE

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E-COMMERCE FEATURES - THE ETHICAL ISSUES

Ubiquity Global Reach Standards Richness Interactivity Information Density Personalisation/Customisation

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Technology trends – Ethical Issues

• Doubling of computing power every 18 months

• Advances in data storage

• Advances in data mining techniques

• Advances in networking

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ETHICAL ANALYSIS FOR THE INFORMATION AGE

• IDENTIFY, DESCRIBE THE FACTS• DEFINE THE CONFLICT, IDENTIFY VALUES• IDENTIFY THE PARTIES INVOLVED• IDENTIFY ALL THE OPTIONS• IDENTIFY POTENTIAL CONSEQUENCES

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• TREAT OTHERS AS YOU WANT TO BE TREATED

• IF ACTION NOT RIGHT FOR EVERYONE, NOT RIGHT FOR ANYONE (KANT)

• IF ACTION NOT REPEATABLE, NOT RIGHT AT ANY TIME (DESCARTES)

• PUT VALUE ON OUTCOMES, UNDERSTAND CONSEQUENCES

• INCUR LEAST HARM OR COST

• NO FREE LUNCH

ETHICAL PRINCIPLES

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INFORMATION RIGHTS

PRIVACY: - THE RIGHT TO BE LEFT ALONE

FAIR INFORMATION PRACTICES (FIP):– NO SECRET PERSONAL RECORDS

– INDIVIDUALS CAN ACCESS, AMEND INFORMATION ABOUT THEM

– USE INFO ONLY WITH PRIOR CONSENT

– MANAGERS ACCOUNTABLE FOR DAMAGE DONE BY SYSTEMS

– GOVERNMENTS CAN INTERVENE