Discussion 3

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Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues of Information Systems

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LEARNING OUTCOMES

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1. Discuss information privacy and methods for improving the privacy of information

2. Explain the privacy of e-mail, data collection issues, and censorship

3. Discuss the ethical issues related to information technology

4. Discuss the principles of intellectual property and issues related to the infringement of intellectual property

LEARNING OUTCOMES (continued)

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5. Discuss information system issues that affect organizations, including the digital divide, electronic publishing, and the connection between the workplace and employees’ health

6. Describe green computing and the ways it can improve the quality of the environment

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Privacy Issues

• Employers search social networking sites for background information on applicants

• Monitoring systems are adopted by employers to check employee performance

• Healthcare organizations, financial institutions, legal firms, and online-ordering firms gather personal data and enter it in databases

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Privacy Issues (continued)

• Information about every aspect of people’s lives is stored on various databases • Many practices of government agencies, credit

agencies, and marketing companies using databases would represent an invasion of privacy

• Several federal laws regulate the collecting and using of information on people and corporations • Narrow in scope and contain loopholes

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Concepts of the Web and Network Privacy

• Set of rules specifying the legal and ethical use of a system and the consequences of noncompliance

Acceptable use policy

• Issues involving both the user’s and the organization’s responsibilities and liabilities

Accountability

• Method for binding all the parties to a contract

Nonrepudiation

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Guidelines to Minimize the Invasion of Privacy

• Users should: • Conduct business only with Web sites that have

privacy policies

• Limit access to personal information to those with authorization

• Identify ways to prevent personal information gathered from being disclosed without consent

• Be able to review their records and correct any inaccuracies

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Guidelines to Minimize the Invasion of Privacy (continued 1)

• Organizations must: • Ensure data’s reliability and take precautions to

prevent misuse of the data

• Make sure any data collection has a stated purpose

• Use verification procedures to ensure data accuracy

• Correct or delete incorrect data and delete the data when it is no longer needed for the stated purpose

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Guidelines to Minimize the Invasion of Privacy (continued 2)

• Not keep record-keeping systems that store personal data a secret

• Take all necessary measures to prevent unauthorized access to data and misuse of data

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Federal Data Protection Laws

• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

• Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA)

• Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)

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Privacy Issues Presented by E-mail

• Spam: Unsolicited e-mail sent for advertising purposes • Sent in bulk using automated mailing software

• Ease of access • Individuals should assume that others have

access to their messages

• Any e-mails sent on company-owned computers are the property of an organization

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Data Collection on the Web

• Number of people shopping online is increasing rapidly because of convenience, the array of choices, and lower prices • Reluctant to make online purchases because of

concerns about hackers

• Information provided on the Web can be combined with other information and technologies to produce new information

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Technologies Used for Data Collection

• Cookies: Small text files with unique ID tags that are embedded in a Web browser and saved on the user’s hard drive • Help Web sites customize pages for users

• Considered an invasion of privacy when users’ information is used without prior consent

• Installing a cookie manager helps users disable cookies

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Technologies Used for Data Collection (continued)

• Log files: Record a user’s actions on a Web site and are generated by Web server software • Help in identifying cases of identity

misrepresentation on Web sites

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Ethical Issues of Information Technologies

• Information technology offers opportunities for unethical behavior because of the ease of collecting and disseminating information • Increase in cybercrime, cyberfraud, identity

theft, and intellectual property theft

• Organizations can reduce unethical behavior of employees by developing and enforcing codes of ethics

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Types of Information on the Web

• Public information • Posted by an organization or public agency

• Censored for public policy reasons

• Censored if the content is deemed offensive to a political, religious, or cultural group

• Private information • Posted by a person

• Uncensored because of constitutional freedom of expression

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Censorship

• Restricting access to the Web • Countries such as China, Myanmar (Burma), and

Singapore restrict or forbid their citizens’ access to the Web

➖ Internet neutrality: Internet service providers (ISPs) and government agencies should treat all data on the Internet equally

• Parents use programs such as CyberPatrol, CyberSitter, Net Nanny, and SafeSurf to prevent children’s access to a few Web sites

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Intellectual Property

• Legal umbrella covering protections that involve copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and patents developed by people or businesses

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Categories in Intellectual Property

• Industrial property • Inventions, trademarks, logos, and industrial

designs

• Copyrighted material • Literary and artistic works

• Online materials such as Web pages, HTML code, and computer graphics

• Fair Use Doctrine - Exception to the copyright law that allows the use of copyrighted material for certain purposes

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Intellectual Property Protections

• Trademark - Protects product names and identifying marks

• Patent - Protects new processes • Advantages of patents to organizations

➖ Generates revenue by licensing the patent

➖ Attracts funding for research and development

➖ Keeps competitors from entering certain market segments

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Laws Covering Software Piracy

• 1980 revisions to the Copyright Act of 1976 include computer programs

• Laws covering legal issues related to information technologies in the United States • Telecommunications Act of 1996

• Communications Decency Act (CDA)

• Laws against spamming

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Cybersquatting

• Registering, selling, or using a domain name to profit from someone else’s trademark

• Typosquatting - Relies on typographical errors made by Web users when typing a Web site address into a Web browser • Variation of cybersquatting

• Called URL hijacking

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Digital Divide

• Divide created between the information rich and the information poor by information technology and the Internet

• Computers still are not affordable for many people • Increasing funding for computers at schools and

public places helps offset the divide

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Impact of Information Technology in the Workplace

• Creation of technical jobs, requiring extensive training

• Increased consumers’ purchasing power • Results in a stronger economy by reducing

production costs

• Direct effect on the nature of jobs • Telecommuting enables people to perform their

jobs from home

• Organizations can use the best human resources in a large geographical region

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Impact of Information Technology in the Workplace (continued)

• Job deskilling - Occurs when skilled labor is eliminated by high technology

• Virtual organizations: Networks of independent companies, suppliers, customers, and manufacturers connected via information technologies • To share skills and cost

• To have access to each other’s markets

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Table 4.1 Potential Benefits and Drawbacks of Telecommuting

Potential Benefits

Can care for small children or elderly parents and spend more time with family

Have fewer restrictions on clothing for work, thereby saving the expense of work wear

No commute, so distance and time factors are reduced as well as the effects of car emissions on air quality

Able to work in more pleasant surroundings

Increased productivity

Decreased neighborhood crime because of more people being home during the day

Easier work environment for employees with disabilities

Reduced costs for office space and utilities

Reduced employee turnover and absenteeism

Able to find and hire people with special skills, regardless of where they are located

Fewer interruptions from coworkers

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Table 4.1 Potential Benefits and Drawbacks of Telecommuting (continued)

Potential Drawbacks

Can become a workaholic (no hard boundaries between “at work” and “at home”)

No regulated work routine

Less interaction with coworkers

No separation between work and home life

Potential legal issues about workers’ injuries

Family interruptions and household distractions

Lack of necessary supplies or equipment

Could create a two-tiered workforce—telecommuters and on-site workers— that affects promotions and raises

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Information Technology and Health Issues

• Increasing popularity of touchscreens result in stress-related injuries of the users’ hands, arms, back, and eyes

• Health problems related to computer equipment • Vision problems

• Musculoskeletal problems

• Skin problems

• Reproductive problems

• Stress-related problems

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Green Computing

• Promotes a sustainable environment and consumes the least amount of energy

• Involves the design, manufacture, use, and disposal of computers, servers, and computing devices with minimal impact on the environment

• Requires cooperation of both private and public sectors

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Ways to Achieve Green Computing

• Designing products that last longer and are modular in design • Parts can be upgraded without replacing the

entire system

• Designing search engines and computing routines that are faster and consume less energy

• Replacing underutilized smaller servers with one large server using a virtualization technique

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Ways to Achieve Green Computing (continued)

• Using computing devices that consume less energy and are biodegradable

• Allowing certain employees to work from their homes to reduce carbon footprints

• Conducting meetings over computer networks to reduce business travel • Encouraging carpool and non-motorized

transportation for employees

• Turning off idle PCs and recycling computer- related materials

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KEY TERMS

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• Acceptable use policy

• Accountability

• Nonrepudiation

• Spam

• Cookies

• Log files

• Intellectual property

• Cybersquatting

• Digital divide

• Virtual organizations

• Green computing

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SUMMARY

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• Employers search social networking sites, such as Facebook or Instagram, to find background information on applicants

• Spamming presents serious privacy issues

• Two types of information available on the Web are public and private

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SUMMARY (continued)

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• Many associations promote the ethically responsible use of information systems and technologies

• Information technology has created many new jobs

• Green computing is one of the methods for combating global warming

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