Ethical Issue on the Internet
Ethical issues relating to the use of the Internet and the implications for managers and business practice.
by Mihai C. Orzan
Abstract
When we address the topic of ethical issues on the Internet we are generally referring at two different matters: privacy and intellectual property. Each has been examined extensively in the last five years, since the Internet explosive intrusion in everyday life activities, each has an important number of sub fields that require special attention from managers and other business professionals. The purpose of this paper is to to make a short presentation of most relevant developments pertaining Internet ethical issues in direct connection with the business world.
The Privacy debate is centered on the arguments regarding citizens’ right to privacy granted or implied by laws on one hand and companies approach on “customer data, considered an asset to sell for profits” (Choi, 2000, p.317) on the other hand.
Privacy on the Internet is exploding as a topic of public concern these days. A recent
Internet survey showed that 4 out of 5 users have major concerns regarding various privacy threats when they’re online. Yet only 6% of them have actually experienced privacy abuses. Those who are not yet on the Net cite privacy as the main reason they have chosen not to become Internet users. If electronic commerce is going to thrive, this fear is going to have to be dealt with by laws and by industry practices and this paper attempts to give a thorough description of the major computer ethics trends of the moment. The other major source of concern for business world as well as the majority of
Internet users is copyright control. Serious question come from both approaches on this matter: what information available on the Internet can I freely use and how can one protect the hardly earned information that he posts on a website. In fact, “The Internet has been characterized as the largest threat to copyright since its
by Mihai C. Orzan
Abstract
When we address the topic of ethical issues on the Internet we are generally referring at two different matters: privacy and intellectual property. Each has been examined extensively in the last five years, since the Internet explosive intrusion in everyday life activities, each has an important number of sub fields that require special attention from managers and other business professionals. The purpose of this paper is to to make a short presentation of most relevant developments pertaining Internet ethical issues in direct connection with the business world.
The Privacy debate is centered on the arguments regarding citizens’ right to privacy granted or implied by laws on one hand and companies approach on “customer data, considered an asset to sell for profits” (Choi, 2000, p.317) on the other hand.
Privacy on the Internet is exploding as a topic of public concern these days. A recent
Internet survey showed that 4 out of 5 users have major concerns regarding various privacy threats when they’re online. Yet only 6% of them have actually experienced privacy abuses. Those who are not yet on the Net cite privacy as the main reason they have chosen not to become Internet users. If electronic commerce is going to thrive, this fear is going to have to be dealt with by laws and by industry practices and this paper attempts to give a thorough description of the major computer ethics trends of the moment. The other major source of concern for business world as well as the majority of
Internet users is copyright control. Serious question come from both approaches on this matter: what information available on the Internet can I freely use and how can one protect the hardly earned information that he posts on a website. In fact, “The Internet has been characterized as the largest threat to copyright since its
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