Chapter 4: Ethical and Social Issues in Information Systems

With any advancement in technology, members of society have an option to choose good or evil when using the new tools, ideas, and equipment. In information technology, new developments advance so rapidly and are constantly changing that lines between what is ethical or not often become blurred and laws and policies can’t keep up. This poses new challenges for managers and employees as IT is utilized within a company but also for consumers and all Internet users in general. 

One of the biggest concerns for all Internet users is privacy. Privacy is defined as, “the claim of individuals to be left alone, free from surveillance or interference from other individuals or organization, including the state.” (Laudon 131). The first federal privacy law was called the Fair Information Practices (FIP) and it was written in 1973 to provide the government guidelines for collecting personal information about individuals. Since 1973, there have been an additional seven federal privacy laws established but these laws still can’t keep up with the continuous updates to IT and the Internet. Traditional copyright laws are also not applicable because of the speed in which information is transferred and updates are made.

Many times when Internet users are on a website, they don’t even realize that their every move is being tracked. I personally forget about the “Big Brother” mentality of the online stores and websites that I visit. Information is stored through cookies on your computer’s hard drive that help website companies better understand you as a consumer. This explains why when I click on “recommended products for you” on Amazon.com that I usually end up purchasing the suggested merchandise. It’s as though Amazon.com is in my head…and my wallet!

As IT has evolved over the years, some people are concerned about the negative social aspects of the Internet and how the use of computers might affect our ability to have work and life balance. Some of the potential impacts are reduced response time to competition and center verses periphery balance in business. More simply put, when employees have more empowerment, what will they do with it? Also, how can your company keep up with global competition if it changes overnight? Computers can create a dependence and vulnerability to private information. Now, the technology dependence has extended to our smart phones and iPads. I don’t go anywhere without my iPhone and I look at it all the time, for no reason other than dependency.

Another negative social issue is computer crime and abuse. This is probably the biggest issue that we hear about the most through news media. We hear about the latest online predator that tries to meet up with a thirteen-year-old girl or the use of the Internet and social media to spread unauthorized naked images of celebrities. It’s unfortunate that so many people resort to using technology in a negative way when it was created to spread positive information and connect people around the world.

Source: Laudon, Kenneth C. & Jane P. Laudon. Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm 12^th ed. Pearson Hall, 2010.