4-1 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. CHAPTER FOUR Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues in Information Systems

4-2 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues in Information Systems LEARNING OBJECTIVES After reading this chapter, you will be able to answer the following questions: 1.What social, ethical, and legal issues are raised by information systems? 2.What specific principles for conduct can be used to guide ethical decisions? 3.Why do contemporary information systems, technology, and the Internet pose challenges to the protection of individual privacy and intellectual property? 4.How have information systems affected everyday life?

4-3 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues in Information Systems Online activity is tracked and ads are displayed depending on your activity Behavioural targeting increases the efficiency of online ads by using information users reveal online and consumption information from offline sources Increased use of behavioural targeting has drawn attention of privacy groups such as PIPEDA The ethical and moral question is understanding what rights individuals have in their own personally identifiable Internet profiles. How much privacy are we willing to give up in order to receive more relevant ads? Behavioural Targeting and Your Privacy: You Are the Target

4-4 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues in Information Systems Ethics Principles of right and wrong that individuals, acting as free moral agents, use to make choices to guide their behaviours Failed ethical judgments by management have occurred across a broad spectrum of industries Can result in legal repercussions Understanding Social, Legal, and Ethical Issues Related to Systems

4-5 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues in Information Systems Understanding Social, Legal, and Ethical Issues Related to Systems

4-6 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues in Information Systems A model for thinking about ethical, social, and political issues Society as a calm pond IT as a rock dropped in pond, creating ripples of new situations not covered by old rules Social and political institutions cannot respond overnight to these ripples — it may take years to develop etiquette, expectations, laws Requires understanding of ethics to make choices in legally gray areas Understanding Social, Legal, and Ethical Issues Related to Systems

4-7 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues in Information Systems Understanding Social, Legal, and Ethical Issues Related to Systems

4-8 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues in Information Systems Five moral dimensions of the information age Information rights and obligations Property rights and obligations Accountability and control System quality Quality of life Understanding Social, Legal, and Ethical Issues Related to Systems

4-9 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues in Information Systems Understanding Social, Legal, and Ethical Issues Related to Systems

4-10 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues in Information Systems Understanding Social, Legal, and Ethical Issues Related to Systems

4-11 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues in Information Systems Ethics in an Information Society Basic concepts: responsibility, accountability, and liability –Responsibility: Accepting the potential costs, duties, and obligations for your decisions –Accountability: Mechanisms for identifying responsible parties –Liability: Permits individuals to recover damages done to them –Due process: Laws are well known and understood, with an ability to appeal to higher authorities

4-12 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues in Information Systems Ethical Analysis 1.Identify and clearly describe the facts 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 consequences of your options Ethics in an Information Society

4-13 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues in Information Systems Candidate ethical principles 1.Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you 2.Immanuel Kant’s Categorical Imperative: If an action is not right for everyone to take, then it is not right for anyone 3.Descartes’ rule of change: If an action cannot be taken repeatedly, then it is not right to be taken at any time Continued …. Ethics in an Information Society

4-14 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues in Information Systems Candidate ethical principles (continued) 4.Utilitarian Principle: Take the action that achieves the greatest value for all concerned 5.Risk Aversion Principle: Take the action that produces the least harm or incurs the least cost to all concerned 6.Ethical “no free lunch” rule: Assume that all tangible and intangible objects are owned by someone else, unless there is a specific declaration otherwise Ethics in an Information Society

4-15 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues in Information Systems Professional Codes of Conduct Promises by professionals to regulate themselves in the general interest of society Promulgated by associations such as the –Canadian Medical Association (CMA), –Canadian Bar Association (CBA), –Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS), and –Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) Ethics in an Information Society

4-16 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues in Information Systems The Moral Dimensions of Information Systems Information rights: Privacy and freedom in the Internet Age –Privacy: Claim of individuals to be left alone, free from surveillance or interference from other individuals, organizations, or the state. –Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) establishes principles for collection, use, and disclosure of personal information –Provinces have parallel legislation

4-17 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues in Information Systems The Moral Dimensions of Information Systems Internet Challenges to Privacy: –Ability to collect data on online activities –Cookies are used to collect information from Web site visits –Web bugs and spyware can be installed surreptitiously Opt-in versus opt-out models of informed consent

4-18 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues in Information Systems The Moral Dimensions of Information Systems

4-19 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues in Information Systems The Moral Dimensions of Information Systems

4-20 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues in Information Systems Technical Solutions Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P) –Enables automatic communication of privacy policies between an e-commerce site and its visitors –Privacy policy can become part of the page’s software The Moral Dimensions of Information Systems

4-21 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues in Information Systems The Moral Dimensions of Information Systems

4-22 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues in Information Systems Property rights: Intellectual Property Intellectual property is intangible property created by individuals or corporations Protected by: Trade secrets Copyright Patents The Moral Dimensions of Information Systems

4-23 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues in Information Systems Trade secret: Intellectual work or product belonging to business, not in the public domain Supreme Court test for breach of confidence: 1.information conveyed must be confidential 2.information must have been communicated in confidence 3.information must have been misused by the party to whom it was communicated The Moral Dimensions of Information Systems

4-24 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues in Information Systems Copyright: Statutory grant protecting intellectual property from being copied for at least 50 years Canadian copyright law protects original literary, musical, artistic, and dramatic works. It also includes software, and prohibits copying of entire programs or their parts. The Moral Dimensions of Information Systems

4-25 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues in Information Systems Patent: A grant to the creator of an invention granting the owner an exclusive monopoly on the ideas behind an invention for between 17 and 20 years Patent law grants a monopoly on underlying concepts and ideas of software Originality, novelty, and invention are key concepts The Moral Dimensions of Information Systems

4-26 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues in Information Systems Challenges to Intellectual Property Rights Perfect digital copies cost almost nothing Sharing of digital content over the Internet costs almost nothing Sites, software, and services for file trading are not easily regulated. A web page may present data from many sources, and incorporate framing The Moral Dimensions of Information Systems

4-27 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues in Information Systems Accountability, Liability, and Control Computer-related liability problems Difficult to hold software producers liable for their software products Given the centrality of software to everyday life, the chances are excellent that liability law will extend its reach to include software The Moral Dimensions of Information Systems

4-28 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues in Information Systems System Quality: Data Quality and Systems Errors Three principal sources of poor system performance Software bugs and errors Hardware or facility failures Poor input data quality The Moral Dimensions of Information Systems

4-29 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues in Information Systems Quality of Life: Equity, Access, and Boundaries Balancing power: Centre versus periphery Rapidity of change: Reduced response time to competition Maintaining boundaries: Family, work, and leisure Dependence and vulnerability Computer crime and abuse Spam Continued … The Moral Dimensions of Information Systems

4-30 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues in Information Systems Quality of Life: Equity, Access, and Boundaries (continued) Employment: Trickle-down technology and reengineering job loss Equity and access: Increasing racial and social class cleavages Health risks: RSI, CVS, and Technostress The Moral Dimensions of Information Systems

4-31 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues in Information Systems Read the Window on Organizations, The Perils of Texting, and then discuss the following questions: Which of the five moral dimensions of information systems identified in this text is involved in this case? What are the ethical, social, and political issues raised by this case? Which of the ethical principles described in the text are useful for decision making about texting while driving? The Moral Dimensions of Information Systems

4-32 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues in Information Systems Read the Window on Technology, Too Much Technology?, and then discuss the following questions: 1.What are some of the arguments for and against the use of digital media? 2.How might the brain be affected by constant digital media usage? 3.Do you think these arguments outweigh the positives of digital media usage? Why or why not? 4.What additional concerns are there for children using digital media? Should children under 8 use computers and cell phones? Why of why not? The Moral Dimensions of Information Systems

4-33 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. CHAPTER FOUR Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues in Information Systems