Discussions of moral and ethical behavior in the information technology field have moved to the forefront of the business world due to the rise of electronic commerce (e-business). Internet technologies have made it much easier for even small companies to gather, assemble and circulate customer information. These new technologies have spawned fears about the proper use of customer data and the protection of individual privacy, especially when it comes to buying and selling such sensitive data.
Ethics for Data Collectors
Companies that collect data from users should be aware of both the ethical and legal implications involved in handling such data. An example occurred shortly after the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, when a White Plains, New York, newspaper published a Google map showing the addresses of more than 44,000 registered handgun owners in upstate New York. While such behavior is not technically illegal, the ethical implications caused significant backlash against the paper's editors and publishers.
Ethics for Data Analysts
Web analysts use digital measurement tools, such as Google Analytics, Omniture, WebTrends and ClickTracks, to track the traffic on their clients' websites. The Web Analyst's Code of Ethics encourages these professionals to engage with companies that keep their customer data private and protected. The code also encourages companies to give full disclosure of their consumer data usage practices to customers, including if and when they sell that data to third-party vendors.
Ethics for Data Buyers
Some companies purchase data from other sources to determine marketing strategies, sales targets and price discrimination. The health insurance giant Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina began buying data on the spending habits of more than 3 million members of its employer group health plans. If a member makes a purchase at a plus-size clothing store, the insurer could use that data to send him information on weight loss plans. The company could also flag that member as a health risk and raise his premiums.
Ethics for Data Resellers
Because the sale of customer information is so profitable, and so much data is available throughout the Internet, companies such as Verizon, AT&T and Sprint have seen additional revenues from data they already own. Smartphone apps, such as FourSquare and Google Places, track a user's movements and supply data for marketers to send customer data on the stores they frequent. Data sellers should be aware of who is purchasing their data and for what purpose.
- Simmons University: Technology as a Threat to Privacy -- Ethical Challenges to the Information Profession
- Prentice Hall: Ethical and Social Issues in Information Systems
- Information Week: The Ethics Of Data
- Pennsylvania State University: Lesson 3: The Sociological and Ethical Impact of the Internet
- Harvard Law School: Session 4 -- Consumer Privacy
- University of Colorado: Ethical Issues in Electronic Information Systems
- Information Week: Why You'll Need A Big Data Ethics Expert
- CNNMoney: Your phone company is selling your personal data
- Wall Street Journal: How the Insurer Knows You Just Stocked Up on Ice Cream and Beer
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