11 Ethical and Social Issues in Information Systems

Question 1

What is the meaning of Responsibility?

Answer 1

Accepting the potential costs, duties and obligations for the decisions we make.

Question 2

What is the meaning of Accountability?

Answer 2

Systems and social institutions in place to determine who took responsible action and who is responsible.

Question 3

What is the meaning of Liability?

Answer 3

A body of laws to permit individuals to recover the damages done to them by other actors, systems or organisations.

Question 4

What is the meaning of Due Process?

Answer 4

Process in which laws are known and understood, and there is an ability to appeal to higher authorities to ensure that laws are applied correctly.

Question 5

What is the meaning of Trade Secrets?

Answer 5

Any intellectual work product—a formula, device, pattern, or

compilation of data—used for a business purpose.

Question 6

What is the meaning of Patents?

Answer 6

Grants the owner an exclusive monopoly on the ideas behind an
invention for 20 years.

Question 7

What is the meaning of Copyright?

Answer 7

A statutory grant that protects creators of intellectual property (e.g. idea, artistic work) from having their work copied by others for any purpose during the life of the author plus an additional 70 years after the author’s death (U.S.).

Question 8

If software fails, who is responsible?

Answer 8

• If seen as part of a machine that injures or harms, software producer and operator may be liable
• If seen as similar to book, difficult to hold author/publisher responsible
• If seen as a service, would this be similar to telephone systems not
being liable for transmitted messages?

Question 9

What are three principal sources of poor system performance?

Answer 9

• Software bugs, errors
• Hardware or facility failures
• Poor input data quality (most common source of business system failure)

Question 10

What is an acceptable, technologically feasible level of system quality?

Answer 10

• Flawless software is economically unfeasible.

Question 11

What are ethics?

Answer 11

The set of principles and standards that we use to make choices that
guide our behaviour.

Question 12

What are some ethical issues affected by technology advances?

Answer 12

• Intellectual property
• Copyright
• Fair use doctrine
• Pirated software
• Counterfeit software

Question 13

What is intellectual property?

Answer 13

Set of rights that protect creativity.

Question 14

What is Copyright?

Answer 14

The right to do, or omit to do, certain acts with intangible property

Question 15

What is Fair use doctrine?

Answer 15

Defines when is legal to use copyrighted material.

Question 16

What is Pirated software?

Answer 16

Unauthorised use, duplication, distribution or sale of copyrighted software

Question 17

What is Counterfeit software?

Answer 17

Fake software – similar to original product.

Question 18

What are the steps in an ethical analysis?

Answer 18

1. Identify and describe the facts clearly
2. Define the conflict or dilemma and identify the higher order values involved
3. Identify the stakeholders
4. Identify the options that you can reasonably take
5. Identify the potential consequences of your options

Question 19

What is the “Golden Rule” ethical principle?

Answer 19

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

E.g. Committing revenge porn (-).

Question 20

What is “Immanuel Kant’s categorical imperative” ethical principle?

Answer 20

If an action is not right for everyone to take, it is not right for anyone

Question 21

What are some ethical principles?

Answer 21

• Golden Rule
• Immanuel Kant’s categorical imperative
• Descartes’ rule of change
• Utilitarian principle
• Risk aversion principle
• “No Free Lunch” rule.

Question 22

What is “Descartes’ rule of change” ethical principle?

Answer 22

If an action cannot be taken repeatedly, it is not right to take at all.
E.g. Monitoring online activities of employees (-)

Question 23

What is the “Utilitarian” ethical principle?

Answer 23

Take the action that achieves the higher or greater value.

E.g. Accessing private email to investigate a homicide (+)

Question 24

What is the “Risk aversion” ethical principle?

Answer 24

Take the action that produces the least harm or the least potential cost.
E.g. Giving employees access to the Internet (+)

Question 25

What is “No free lunch” ethical principle?

Answer 25

Virtually all tangible and intangible objects are owned by someone else.
E.g. Downloading and copying movies (-)

Question 26

What is Privacy?

Answer 26

The right to be left alone when you want to be, to have control over your own personal possessions and not to be observed without your consent.

Question 27

What is the European Directive on Data Protection?

Answer 27

• Use of data requires informed consent of customer
• EU member nations cannot transfer personal data to countries without similar privacy protection
• New EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) replacing existing Data Protection :
• Applies across all EU countries to any firms operating in EU
• Strengthens right to be forgotten
• Privacy Shield replaces safe harbour framework

Question 28

What is the Online Privacy Alliance?

Answer 28

“OPA” was a cross-industry coalition of 81 e-commerce companies and associations, including some of the biggest names in, formed in 1998 with the aim of providing a unified voice for companies in the Internet industry to contribute to the definition of privacy policy for the Internet.

Question 29

What does the Online Privacy Alliance encourage?

Answer 29

Encourages self-regulation to develop a set of privacy guidelines for its members.

Question 30

What does the Online Privacy Alliance foster?

Answer 30

Foster the protection of individuals’ privacy online and in electronic commerce.” It also aimed to provide a framework for debate and a forum for attracting companies engaged in e-commerce from different sectors.

Question 31

What are some internet challenges to privacy?

Answer 31

• Cookies
• Web beacons (web bugs)
• Spyware
• Online industry promotes self-regulation over privacy legislation.
  • The United States allows businesses to gather transaction
  information and use this for other marketing purposes.
  • Opt-out versus. opt-in model

Question 32

What do cookies do?

Answer 32

Identify browser and track visits to site.

Question 33

What are web beacons (web bugs)?

Answer 33

• Tiny graphics embedded in emails and web pages

* Monitor who is reading email message or visiting site

Question 34

What is spyware?

Answer 34

• Secretly installed on user’s computer

* May transmit user’s keystrokes or display unwanted ads

Question 35

What is online industry promotes self-regulation over privacy legislation?

Answer 35

• Complex/ambiguous privacy statements
• Opt-out models selected over opt-in
• Online “seals” of privacy principles.

Question 36

What are some technical solutions?

Answer 36

• Email encryption
• Anti-spyware tools
• Overall, technical solutions have failed to protect users from being tracked from one site to another
• Browser features
• “Private” browsing
• “Do not track” options

Question 37

What are the four states of privacy?

Answer 37

• Solitude
• Intimacy
• Anonymity
• Reserve

Question 38

What is the meaning of solitude?

Answer 38

Individual separated from the group and freed from the

observation of other persons.

Question 39

What is the meaning of intimacy?

Answer 39

Individual is part of small unit.

Question 40

What is the meaning of anonymity?

Answer 40

Individual in public but still seeks and finds freedom from identification and surveillance.

Question 41

What is the meaning of reserve?

Answer 41

Individual holding back communication.