Privacy is an essential concept in the Internet age since data and activity are accumulated online. This concept can be understood as “information being beyond the range of others’ five senses and any devices that can enhance, reveal, trace or record human conduct, thought, belief, or emotion.” For me, privacy is an essential possibility to have personal data inaccessible to third parties regardless of its storage form, paper or digital.
However, it became more challenging to maintain privacy because people stored information about their lives, habits, and financial operations online. Therefore, ethics of privacy should go along with legal protection. Companies need to train their employees to properly manage their activity on the Web to minimize data leakage and phishing.
Furthermore, individuals should filter their posts, likes, and tags on social media since it has become a routine practice for educational organizations to refuse to accept applicants based on their online baggage. It may seem like unethical behavior of these institutions, but modern times demand revising moral standards about privacy.
Since the boundaries of privacy were broadened, people should adjust their behavior online accordingly. For example, it is essential not to post offensive pictures and text on social media because employers and college professors use it to familiarize themselves with candidates. I think these practices are ethical because Internet etiquette was developed to ensure that users display virtuous behavior. Indeed, keeping positive web content is not deception but protection for one’s future career.
- Ethical Aspects of Digital Privacy
- Ethical Dilemma of Privacy in Technology
- Computer Ethics: Ethics, Laws, Definition & Privacy
- Are You Listening?: Ethical Issue of Privacy Violation
- Security Issues in the 21st Century: An Ethical Challenge of Privacy
- Computer Ethics and Privacy
- The Internet and Ethical Debate on Information Privacy