Question

You worked for AOL. You left the company and took the private account information of 14 million AOL customers. You have a new job, more money, and better opportunities. You found out that another AOL employee was charged with the theft of the 14 million user accounts. You both have families and neither of you can afford to lose your jobs or go to jail. Your faced with an ethical dilemma, taking responsibility for your criminal activity or supporting your family. There is no grey area. Choose your action and justify your response.

Your journal entry must be at least 200 words

Answer 1

Note: This response is in UK English, please paste the response to MS Word and you should be able to spot discrepancies easily. You may elaborate the answer based on personal views or your classwork if necessary.

(Answer) There are two options in this situation that would consequently lead to two very different scenarios. In the first scenario, one could be silent about having taken the information and let the other innocent person take the blame. The other person would probably go to prison and one would be free to live a normal life.

On the other hand, one could do the ethical thing and tell the truth about taking the information. This is the moral and ethical thing to do. However, it would take the blame off the innocent person and one could end up in prison.

There is another long-term scenario in this situation that might tip the scales. This is where the innocent man may demand an investigation in the hearings. Upon the investigation, the computer records would show who has truly taken the information. In this case, one would be charged with theft, perjury, withholding information etc.

This would mean that there is more than a 50% chance of being charged as guilty. In this case, it would not only be the moral thing but, also the relatively safer thing to do by telling the truth and avoiding additional charges.