Module 8: Privacy Issues

Applying Ethical Principles
Database Privacy
Information that people provide in databases for specific purpose may not be used by the provider of service for other purposes. Using this information especially without the permission of the owner is unethical and to some point may be abusive. The owner of the information may be taken advantage of or even harmed because of the release of information.

Email Privacy
The source and recipient of the email should be the only persons who should read the email. If other people have access to the mailbox, even if they are administrators, they should not read nor write using the email of other people. It is unethical to hide in someone’s identity by writing emails using the account of another person. This may cause harm on owner of the mailbox especially when that someone is spamming or flaming. Or even when the intentions are not to harm others, it is still unethical to read someone’s email. This is like reading someone’s letters.

Privacy on the Web
Only you should know the websites you visited. The system administrators have access to system logs, and may find out the websites you visited.

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