Introduction
The term ethics used to refer to a set of principles that govern a character of a society . What is deemed to be acceptable before the society is termed as ethical and vice-versa unethical. Similarly, in computing, the term ethics refer to a set of good principles that govern the discourse that is computing . Some of the main facets of computing that can be discussed in the purview of computer ethics include privacy concerns, intellectual property and the use of computer for the betterment of society. This paper reviews a scenario that brings the ethics of computing into discussion.
Scenario
The possibility to finding important personal information from such Access Database and Facebook page information is quite high. The ethical issue is that most information found on Facebook pages are private and that failure to protect that information amounts to unlawful disclosure
The deontological of privacy concerns are quite clear. Every individual has private matters and that it in the interest of most individuals to have private matter remain as such. Exposing private matter found on Facebook is a breach of individual privacy which against the basic morals of ethics.
On the teleological approach to breach of privacy there is concern as to what might emerge from such intrusions. Intruding the privacy of an individual, say a relative or friend, might reveal some sensitive information that might alter the relationship initially held.
The best solution when dealing with such ensured personal data is ensuring the confidentially of the data. The memory stick should be kept in a secure location in order to maintain the security of the data.
Invading the privacy of an individual by going through taking of questionnaire information and publishing information on Facebook pages may bring other ethical issues into concern. For instance, the questionnaires may have important works that have intellectual property appended to it. Therefore, snooping through information in the questionnaires of a third party may tempt an individual to find works that are important and claim such works, an infringement of copyrights and intellectual property.
Several rules and laws apply to this situation. One of the rules is that it is unethical to snoop though other private files and other’s intellectual works. It is like taking the credit for another person’s innovation.
The person affected in this scenario is the owner of the Facebook page and questionnaires. The owners of the Facebbok pages will have some very important and personal matters exposed that may lead to undesirable outcomes. Either, the person snooping through information in online questionnaires may infringe on copyrights laws.
There are very positive outcomes, if any, that can be discussed when a person goes through another emails. In most cases, it is considered mischievous or malicious therefore I cannot think of any positive outcomes. On the negative side, going through an individual’s Facebook page and questionnaires may trigger a suit for invasion of privacy. In addition, if someone contravened copyright laws, the consequence might lead to other severe forms of punishment.
References
Barger, R. N. (2008). Computer Ethics: A Case-based Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,.
Cline, A. (2012). Deontological, Teleological and Virtue Ethics: Types of Ethical Systems. Retrieved April 4, 2013, from atheism.about.com: http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/phil/blfaq_phileth_sys.htm
Stamatellos. (2007). Computer Ethics: A Global Perspective. Norman Inc: Jones & Bartlett Learning,.
