Executive Summary.1
Introduction.1
Responsible Leadership..4
Conclusion..6
Works Cited7
Apple Inc. Refuses to Comply Court Order to Encrypt iPhone
Executive Summary
This article will explain the ethical responsibilities of companies to protect the interest of their clients. The recent controversy that involves Apple Inc. is the refusal of the company to comply with the court order to build the software that can encrypt the iPhone of a suspected terrorist. Apple Inc. stand is an ethical decision because it promotes the privacy of its clients. It is the duty of companies or organizations to use their influence and initiate active stakeholder dialogues by involving the parties that may be affected in order to arrive with balanced and fair decisions (Voegtlin, et al 3). Thus, the decision of Apple Inc. not to follow the order of the court to build the software that will encrypt the iPhone to obtain the contents of his phone of the suspected terrorist is an ethical decision.
Introduction
The current business issue that occurred in February 2016 is the one involving the San Bernardino case, which is considered an act of terrorism where several victims died in San Bernardino in December 2015. Such act of terrorism demands justice for the innocent lives that were lost and for all the families who were left behind. In this particular case, the FBI asked Apple Inc. to cooperate with them after locating the iPhone of one of the suspects of the terrorism attack. Apple Inc. worked hand in hand with the government to resolve the crime. Part of the data that was requested by the FBI from Apple Inc. is the contents of the iPhone. In effect, the government is requesting the phone manufacturer to unlock the iPhone of the suspect that they found in the crime scene to complete their investigation. However, Apple Inc. refused to comply with the court order because they respect the privacy of their customers. The company believes that the court order will create dangerous consequences by building a backdoor to the iPhone by unlocking it (Heart and Edwards 1).
Nowadays, Smartphones, such as iPhone and Android phones have become an essential part of many people who store personal information which may include private conversations, health data, pictures, financial information, notes, calendars and contacts. Thus, such personal information must be protected at all times from hackers and criminals who want to steal the highly confidential data without the owner’s permission.
Ethical Business Decision
As part of business ethics of the phone manufacturers such as Apple Inc. and other phone companies is to ensure that the personal information of their clients or customers are protected. On the part of Apple Inc., they want to assure the consumers and the public that they are committed to safeguarding the personal data that are stored in the smart phones. Thus, when the court ordered the company to decode or encrypt the iPhone of the suspect will result to compromising the security of the personal information of their clients, which may place them at risk. The encryption will mean that Apple will now open the flood gates that may put the personal data of the customers in danger, considering that the contents of the iPhone are purely personal matters and should not be part of their business.
Just last February 16, 2016, the federal court in California ordered Apple Inc. to create the special software that will encrypt or unlock the iPhone unit that was used by the gunman named Rizwan Farook, during the terrorist attack (Heart and Edwards 1). The order of the court desisted by the company. The company argues that they are duty bound to safeguard the right to privacy of their customers and creating the software will place the safety and security of every iPhone user at risk (Heart and Edwards 1).
This is a good business decision on the part of Apple Inc. since the order of the court may set a legal precedent that will allow the FBI to have access to any encrypted device (Heart and Edwards 1). Technology involves the creation of new privacy standards for the consumers since technology changes the flow of information that may come from gadgets and mobile devices (Martin 268). The user experience which deals with technology is expected to add additional level of uncertainty. Thus, information technologies should be carefully assessed in order to determine if the right to privacy of individuals has been violated, particularly the data that can be found in smartphones, gadgets and mobile devices.
Responsible Leadership
The statement of Tim Cook, the president of Apple Inc. is a manifestation of responsible leadership by protecting the interest of their customers and clients, even if it means defying the order of the court. The leaders of business organizations should think and act in a global context by protecting their clients and consumers. The leaders of the organizations such as Tim Cook should broaden their corporate purpose in order to reflect the accountability of the company to its customers around the globe.
Practicing responsible leadership means including ethics at the center of their thoughts, words and deeds (Martin 268). This means that the responsible leaders should think of the consequences of their conduct for all constituencies that may be affected, that by recognizing the legitimate claims of the affected stakeholders (Voegtlin, et al 3). In the case of Apple Inc., it must be able to use their influence and initiate active stakeholder dialogues by involving the parties that may be affected in order to arrive with a balanced and fair decisions (Voegtlin, et al 3). Thus, the decision of Apple Inc. not to follow the order of the court to build the software that will encrypt the iPhone of the terrorist to obtain the contents of his phone is an ethical decision because it promotes the privacy of its clients.
Conclusion
Thus, the inclusion of the relevant stakeholders in the decision making process of the company supports the legitimate process, by the weighing and balancing of the legitimate claims leads to a fair decision (Voegtlin, et al 3). In the case of Apple Inc., its president Cook can be considered as a responsible leader because he tries to foster the public exchange of opinions with its loyal customers by releasing statements that attempt to establish institutional modes of communication with stakeholders and the public (Voegtlin, et al 3).
Hence, the decision of the company to assure the consumers and the public that they are committed to safeguarding the personal data that are stored in the smart phones is an ethical decision. Thus, defying the court order which mandates the company to decode or encrypt the iPhone of the suspect will result to compromising the security of the personal information of their clients. Safeguarding the privacy of the clients should be the main objective of the company. Hence, if the company will follow the order of the court to encrypt the iPhone of the suspect, it will open the flood gates to personal data of the clients. This is a dangerous move on the part of the company because violates the right to privacy of the customers. The contents of the iPhone are purely personal matters and should not be disclosed to any person without the consent of the owner. Apple Inc. should strive to protect the interest of its clients and all the stakeholders of their business. It is part of ethical business practice on the part of the leaders of the organizations such as Tim Cook, to broaden their corporate purpose that promotes the accountability of the company to its customers across the world.
Works Cited:
Heart, Julia and Julia Edwards, “Apple lawyer, FBI director face off in Congress on
iPhone encryption”. Reuters.com. Web. March 4, 2016.
Martin, Kirsten. “Information Technology and Privacy: Conceptual Muddles or Privacy
Vacuums?” Ethics and Information Technology 14.4 (2012): 267-84.
Smit, Arnold. “Responsible Leadership Development through Management Education: A
Business Ethics Perspective.” African Journal of Business Ethics 7.2 (2013): 45-
51.
Voegtlin, Christian, Moritz Patzer, and Andreas Georg Scherer. “Responsible Leadership
in Global Business: A New Approach to Leadership and its Multi-Level
Outcomes.” Journal of Business Ethics 105.1 (2012): 1-16.
