Objectives

Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to:

  • define ethics of information
  • list common privacy concerns

Overview

TJX Co., Target, and Home Depot were hit with some of the largest data security breaches in the history of retailing, resulting in the theft of credit card information of approximately 186 million customers worldwide. As a result, these companies faced a serious ethical dilemma that has unfortunately become increasingly common in recent years. While state, federal, and foreign laws stipulate how and when affected customers should be notified and the corrective measures to be taken, many jurisdictions allow a maximum of 45 days for a firm to act following a breach. Failure to comply within this timeframe could lead to significant fines.

However, the ethical considerations are even more pressing. Should companies like these notify affected customers immediately or wait until the breach has been secured and all remedial steps have been taken, even if it takes weeks?

  • Stockholder (shareholder)
  • Stakeholder
  • Social Contract

Privacy

Ownership of Information

Jeff takes a picture of Jill at a restaurant and uploads it to Facebook.

  • Who owns this information object (the picture)?
  • Facebook believes they own it and will now add it to their image database, apply facial recognition, and tag people in the picture and add it to their timeline…
  • what if there are other people in the picture?

Green Computing

  • Use of energy when computing
  • Cooling of servers, CPUs, etc.

Turning off video during a Teams meeting reduces energy consumption by 90%.

Regulations and Laws

  • HIPPA
  • FERPA
  • …

Lecture

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Slide Deck: Privacy & Ethical Considerations in Information Management

Resources

Consult the following articles on the web for an expanded perspective:

References

[1] Pearlson, K. E., Saunders, C. S., & Galletta, D. F. (2019). Managing and using information systems: A strategic approach. John Wiley & Sons.

Errata

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