Discussions

Big data analytics raises a range of ethical issues, especially when companies begin to monetize their collected data, externally for reasons other than those for which the data were originally gathered. The ease with which analytics can be applied today completely changes the ethical framework. Today, developers can access remarkably varied and widespread sources of data which just a few years ago, it would have been difficult to imagine this kind of access. The problem is that our ability to reveal patterns and new knowledge is moving faster than our current legal and ethical guidelines can manage. According to Nunan & Di Domenico (2013), “as the collection of unstructured data becomes more economically viable, and shifts in consumer usage of technology make a much wider range of data available, there is an incentive for organizations to collect as much data as possible. Yet, just because consumers are willing to provide data this does not mean that its use is free from privacy implications” (p. 4) therefore as technology becomes an increasingly important part of people’s lives, data ethics must be translated into sound business practices to ensure that both internal and external interests are balanced.

For the purpose of this discussion I will compare 3 privacy statements of Office Depot, Staples and Best Buy.  The three companies begin their statements with a list of data they may collect from the customers. Office Depot and Best Buy have a very similar list with 15-14 different sources of data, while Staples just have 3 (Staples, 2019). Office Depot and Best Buy may even collects IP addresses from customers, which Best Buy (2019), explains “we collect information about your interactions with us, including the type of device or browser you're using, your IP address, your browsing behavior while on our website, and the URLs of the websites you were at before you visited our site” (par. 15), Office Depot does not give reason of why are they collecting this type of information but it may be the same. Office Depot in the other hand, provides a more detailed list of ways they obtain the customer’s data than Best Buy and Staples does not give a list at all.

It is interesting that all three privacy statement clearly mention that their websites are not intended to be used by children under 13, Office Depot (2018), specifically mentioned “Our websites are not intended for children under 13. We take steps on these sites to avoid collecting information online from children under 13”, (par. 14), therefore all three are being ethical in that aspect. Additionally, all three have a very detailed paragraph referring to with who they may share all the collected data. All three share this data with company affiliates, third parties than do services in behalf of them, with business partners, with the government (if they have to respond to a court order or subpoena), and any business successors. If they share all your data, even credit card numbers with all these entities then there is not privacy anymore.

Overall, I believe all three privacy statement meet their purpose but I feel they collect too much data from customers. Collecting even social security number, IP addresses, locations, etc. and share it between business partners seems unethical to me. If they are collecting information for they marketing, why does an external business partner of Office Depot needs my social security number? There are some blank spaces and it is not totally clear what information and under what circumstances they will give such important data to external entities but it concerns me that the information that you give to some companies could be easily transferred to another one, exposing your personal information.