Today the internet is a social aspects used to link people in a more efficient and modern way. The increased usage of networks has caused interactions that are more viable. The formation of the cyber communities made of people with like minds and common interests enables them to share information without any hindrances to geographical barriers.
They are in a position to communicate on various trivial, controversial or private subjects of interest. The exchange of information among users at a relatively low cost in less time means that people are now more prone to some psychological and social effects over the internet usage especially at home.
This paper is an evaluation essay on the issue relating to internet usage and its impact on the ethics in a social setting. Has the use of Information Technology affected the societal norm today? Do people suffer from social or economical impacts of dissemination and implementation of current innovative Information Technology? The paper is an analysis of the ethical concerns regarding privacy in the internet.
Today the cyberspace suffers from the user’s ability to assume anonymous status or ability to have pseudonymous online identities. The users’ ability to obtain informed consent complicates and exaggerates the expectations. It seems an illusion over privacy due to the blurred distinction between private and public domain.
There is fuelled disagreement regarding the policies for governing social and behavioural conduct of human interaction via the net. Most of the concern boards are incompetent or lack the technical expertise to understand guidance or protocols regarding internet usage. The ethical, legal and technical issues regarding the internet usage need implementation as an urgent measure of protecting human subjects.
The human created cyberspace has no boundaries thus the captivation of human lives. It is an influence to everyday activity and impacts to various controversial problems involving freedom in dialogue, censorship, rationality such as property rights and privacy. In most believers, the societal norm has some measures of regulating the internet related controversial issues.
There are still various ethical concerns regarding the internet such as the safeguarding the privacy of individuals for instance the private medical information. Other than the private lives of people, companies also face risks due to poor regulation measures as evident in the recent cyber attacks on Google and other companies in China.
Privacy of information involves ability to confine the confidential personal information in a specified domain area. The disclosure either causes emotional distress, embarrassment, or sensitivity. Privacy requires limiting others access to secret and equally anonymous information to protect personal integrity.
Today’s internet technology is a modernized open communication architecture that raises very unique ethical issues with regards to privacy. Passage of information trough various servers’ lacks proper boundaries to guarantee privacy of virtual transactions. The computer technology can easily deceive one on issues of security where people thinks they are engaging in private activities, while most of the systems in the net are able to capture, edit or store the information.
The architecture of the internet is meant to enhance sharing of information and not to conceal or defend its usage. An adequate level of security with acceptable risk levels ought to enhance the network communication at considerable cost and time. Some personal ethics address issues pertaining fidelity, beneficence of assets, autonomy, justice and fierce.
Since we have past the manual style of protecting records, we ought to relay on the electronically protected records governed by intelligible series of laws for confidentiality and privacy. The introduction of internet in the entrepreneur world enhances advancement in telecommunication technology where the various people and their associates can access a wide range of information and data with ease regardless of limitations concerning time, distance, cost and remoteness.
There are no barriers to exchange of life saving information, accessible from any local cyber but there are equally easy serious threats regarding personal privacy of the information. There is great need for the firms to replace their manual systems with the electronic systems. As evident, the latest advancement to real-time systems, which enables client involvement in change or update of stored information.
The existence of Electronic Medical Records (EMR) and Electronic Cash/Credit Registers (ETR) is a significant evidence of the advancement. The use of passwords for access to electronically stored information faces various hackers threats with the ability to retrieve insecure information much easily from locality compared to manual records.
A second major development concerning ethical threat to information system involves privacy of information with regards to intensity of the requirements. How much information should one provide for storage? What are the laws that govern the releases of this information? Various ethical related outcomes such as confession of important information to criminals, service companies such as insurance companies and other malicious people may lead to ethically implicated dangers.
Any private data or information sent through non-secure networks ought to have proper encryption procedures. Other services in use today for securing private information include filtering, use of messages authentication codes, digital signatures and, the use of platforms that support Privacy Preferences Projects. They have some user-defined standardized measures are encouraged to negotiate the usage and dissemination of user’s information to the third parties with the website owners.
Works Cited
Spinello, R. A. “Cyber Ethics: Morality and law in cyberspace”. (2003) Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Sudbury, MA