Ethics for the Information Age, 8th Edition

Chapter 5 : Information Privacy

Part 1
Choose one of the following questions - clearly state which questions you are answering. For each question, apply only 4 of the 5 ethical theories 

• Kantianism
• Act Utilitarianism
• Rule Utilitarianism
• Social Contract Theory
• Virtue Ethics

.

For example, if you choose #1, your post should look like (note that it's missing Social Contract Theory):

Question #1
Should mobile apps be allowed to collect information about your location and transmit this information to data brokers?

Kantianism: YES
Kantianism says yes because... (explain why here)

Act Utilitarianism: NO
Act Utilitarianism says no because... (explain why here)

Rule Utilitarianism:

Virtue Ethics:

 

Thoroughly explain your stance and please remember that each post must be a minimum of 250 words. Note that repeating/paraphrasing the question (ex. "Kantianism says no,mobile apps should not be allowed to collect information about your location and transmit this information to data brokers" -- just say "Kantianism says no") or summarizing/explaining the theory does not count towards the sentence requirement. Don't explain the theory all over again. Please review the textbook material for examples of using the theories to support an argument.

 

1. Should mobile apps be allowed to collect information about your location and transmit this information to data brokers?
2. Warren and Brandeis argued that it is a violation of a person’s privacy to take their photograph without their consent. However, it is legal to take a picture or video of people in a public setting. This may result in a person being humiliated across different social media platforms for doing something harmless but outside of social norms (something weird or embarrassing, but not mean or violent), possibly leading to negative psychological effects. Should it be illegal to photograph or record a person without their consent?
3. Some consumers give phony personal information when they apply for rewards or loyalty cards at stores. Others take it a step further by regularly exchanging their cards with those held by other people. Are these people doing anything wrong? Why or why not?
4. If you voluntarily have your body scanned at a department store, who should own that information, you or the store? Should the store have the right to sell your body measurements to other businesses? Explain your reasoning.
5. Netflix keeps detailed information about the television-viewing habits of customers who subscribe to its service. Should your television-viewing habits be private information?
6. Netflix keeps detailed information about the television-viewing habits of customers who subscribe to its service. Do voters have the right to know the viewing habits of people running for elected office?
7. Enhanced 911 service allows cell phone companies to track the locations of active cell phone users within 100 meters. Should the police be able to get from the cell phone company the names of all subscribers using their phones close to a crime scene around the time of the crime?
8. Should parents implant microchips in their children to make them easier to identify in case they are lost or kidnapped? Why or why not?
9. You are setting up an account at a local store that rents outdoor equipment (tents, backpacks, ski gear, etc.). The clerk asks you to fill out the application form completely. One of the fields asks for your Social Security number. You leave that field blank. The clerk refuses to accept your application without the field filled in. You ask to speak to the manager, and the clerk says the manager is not available. Would it be wrong in this situation to fill in a fake Social Security number?
10. A company discovers that some of its proprietary information has been revealed in Internet chat rooms. The disclosure of this information results in a substantial drop in the price of the company’s shares. The company provides Internet service providers with the screen names of the people who posted the confidential information. It asks the ISPs to disclose the actual identities of these people. Should the ISPs comply with this request? Explain your reasoning. (This scenario is adapted from an actual event.)
11. Music files downloaded from Apple’s iTunes Store have the purchaser’s name and email address embedded in them. Conceivably, Apple could use this information to learn how much file sharing goes on (e.g., it could find out that a month after Ann purchases a song there are 10 computers that have a copy of Ann’s music file). Some may argue that by including personal information in music files it sells, Apple has violated the privacy rights of its customers. Should Apple stop this or is this acceptable for the company to do?
12. Suppose a journalist learns that a wealthy candidate for high public office has lost millions of dollars gambling in Las Vegas. Should the journalist publish this information? Does the public interest outweigh the politician’s desire for privacy in this case?