Question

Information is data that is framed in a specific context. In this sense, information is contextual data that has a level of inherent value. Data might be the binary 0s and 1s on a hard drive, but information is the combination of that binary data into a document, media file, or database. Therefore, information systems are methods of managing the value of different types of data. The value of the data might be in the personal records such as social security number, addresses, or shopping habits that are linked together to form an online shopping cart and on-click purchasing. The value of information provides for the potential for ethical, social, and political issues within an organization. An example of these ethical, social, and political issues can be found in the concept of privacy.

What ethical, social, and political issues arise with the use of information systems ?

Answer 1

Ethics is about the principles of right or wrong used by individuals to make decisions

The ethical, social, and political issues raised by information systems can be discussed under the five   dimensions:

Information rights and obligations

• Internet, spamming and emails have led to a threat to individual privacy and information
• The security of the information is now distributed to individuals, service providers, and government
• The internet has raised to the scenario of constant surveillance and policing
• Issues with natioanl and scoail security Eg Hacking of government information systems
• It is very easy to acquire large information about a large group of people and profile them. Companies can make a detailed profile of an individual and target him easily (Behavioural targeting)
• This targeting can also be abused as in the case of Cambridge Analytica- Facebook scandal, where the Analytica collected data of 50 million users without their permission and used it for 2016 Trump presidential campaign.

Property rights and obligations

• Since data and idea generation is evolving through collaboration among distant individual, there rise questions of intellectual property right.(IPR)
• Policing a large group and Placing obligations is difficult
• Making laws in IPR in a new era of the internet is cumbersome

Accountability and control

• Determining the personal responsibility for action is getting difficult.
• Liability-legally placing making a person or group liable is getting tricky. It is difficult to hold certain people specifically for issues arising

E.g. In peer to peer sharing platforms like a torrent, data sharing occurred among numerous individuals and it is difficult to hold one person responsible

System quality and information quality

The quality of information and lack of accuracy becomes an issue eg. Banks, not sanctioning loan because of a mismatch of information

Quality of life

It is well-known fact that internet and social media interfere with the social and personal life of individuals resulting in less social interactions and family time. It also interferes with the productivity of individuals