1. ETHICS and COMPUTERS
An Overview
23/04/2017

2. What ethical and legal issues affect ICT and its users?
FOCUS QUESTION
What ethical and legal issues affect ICT and its users?
23/04/2017
BTT – UNIT 5

3. Ethics
Ethics are the moral principles which determine the rightness or wrongness of particular acts or activities.
Being ethical means selecting a right action over a wrong one.
Being unethical means intentionally acting in a wrong or bad way.
Ethics are based on value systems.
Ethical dilemmas require choices.
23/04/2017
BTT – UNIT 5

4. THE ISSUES Privacy and Personal Information Encryption
Trust : reliability, failures, dependency, computer models
Freedom of speech
Intellectual Property
Computer crime
Computers and Work
Impact and control of computers
Professional Ethics and Responsibilities
23/04/2017
BTT – UNIT 5

5. Solving Ethical Dilemnas
There are two main approaches to solving ethical dilemmas:
1. utilitarianism
greatest good for the greatest number of people
2. deontology
based on following personal or societal values, rules, or duties
23/04/2017
BTT – UNIT 5

6. What Is Computer Ethics?
The moral guidelines that govern the use of computers and information systems.
23/04/2017
BTT – UNIT 5

7. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
People in business must make ethical decisions.
Some areas of CSR include
selling products that are not harmful
conducting business with positive impact
treating employees fairly
not engaging in deceitful practices
Companies now hire ethicists to help with CSR.
23/04/2017
BTT – UNIT 5

8. BUSINESS ETHICS
Businesses have a “social responsibility” to act in a manner that is in the best interests of society in general, as well as the best interest of a company
Stakeholders watch businesses to ensure that they uphold their social responsibility
23/04/2017
BTT – UNIT 5

9. VALUE SYSTEMS
Individual value systems are the result of many factors – race, religion, cultural background, education, family values and our own experiences throughout life
These factors help shape what we believe is right or wrong
Sometimes the choice is straightforward
Sometimes you are asked to make decisions based on your own value system
These conflicts are called ethical dilemmas
23/04/2017
BTT – UNIT 5

10. How Do Ethics Apply to ICT?
The following are examples of ethical dilemmas in ICT:
What is the responsibility of an employer regarding ergonomic health risks?
Should an employer be able to stop an employee from sending a personal ?
Should an employer be able to monitor employee computer activity?
Should insurance companies be able to use ethnicity data when establishing rates?
23/04/2017
BTT – UNIT 5

11. LEGAL VS. ETHICAL
LEGAL: actions or behaviour that are carried out according to the law
Relationship between something that is “legal” and something that is “ethical” not necessarily “cut and dried”
Ethical and legal may not always be the same thing
23/04/2017
BTT – UNIT 5

12. LEGAL VS. ETHICAL
LEGAL
NOT LEGAL
ETHICAL
It is both legal and ethical to protect customer privacy when a customer makes online purchases at your e-commerce site.
It is not legal, but could be considered ethical to leak information that appeared on your employer’s Intranet to the media in order to stop illegal activity within the company.
NOT ETHICAL
It is legal but not considered ethical to call in sick to you company message centre when you are not really ill.
It is neither legal nor ethical to sell the addresses of your customers without their permission.
23/04/2017
BTT – UNIT 5

13. Legal and Ethical Issue in ICT
Legal and ethical are not necessarily the same thing.
Sometimes it takes laws a long time to catch up with the way society views situations.
The law is constantly evolving to keep up with issues of cybercrime.
23/04/2017
BTT – UNIT 5

14. Codes of Conduct
A code of conduct is written guidelines that help determine whether a specific computer action is ethical or unethical
10 Commandants of Computer Ethics
23/04/2017
BTT – UNIT 5

15. Basic Rules of Online Safety for Teens
Keep your identity private
Never get together with someone you “meet” online
Never respond to , chat comments, or newsgroup messages that are hostile, belligerent, inappropriate, or in any way make you feel uncomfortable
Talk with your parents about their expectations and ground rules for going online
Know the rules of online security
23/04/2017
BTT – UNIT 5