Instagram and the Ethics of Privacy

1) When discussing the utilitarian theory of ethics, it is essential to understand what its key principles are and why it comes with its own set of pros and cons. From thearticle, the author states how the theory can be described as, " ...a straightforward method for deciding the morally right course of action for any particular situation we may find ourselves in... first identify the various courses of action we could perform. Second, we determine all of the foreseeable benefits and harms that would result from each course of action for everyone affected by the action. And third, we choose the course of action that provides the greatest benefits after the costs have been taken into account." From this quote, we can understand that for any decision made on reliance on utilitarian theory, the benefits and harms are to be given specific values. Those values are then evaluated for the proper action to execute justice. These values are usually given to such things as time, life, privacy, and the value of a decision from the lens of human dignity. Furthermore, the lectures also effectively explain that the theory emphasizes the notion of creating the greatest good for the greatest number of people. It ultimately positions the argument/decision to be between pleasure and happiness versus pain and unhappiness. These are the fundamentals behind the Utilitarian Theory of Ethics.

2) Given the current situation with Instagram and the ethics of privacy, as a board member, they must decide whether Instagram should be allowed to sell a user's information or not. Following the utilitarian theory of ethics, they must take into account how these sales may benefit their consumers in the long-term. Since they offer a free social media platform, in order to sustain such services, it is essential that they continue to funnel in revenue in the form of advertising and sponsorships from businesses across the world. The sales of this metadata not only makes it so that the consumers remain on the platform for free, but it also provides other businesses an incentive to work with Instagram. Furthermore, this same principle can be applied to the issue of selling users' photos to third parties for a profit. These sales offer an incentive for companies such as those that operate in consumer retail to amplify their own advertising efforts with the use of real people and data. This results in even more revenue for Instagram to operate, support, and maintain their current social media customer base. Following the theory, they should be able to sustain this to benefit and keep the millions of daily users happy without compromising the greater good of current and future users. The only caveat is that they should only sell photos from profiles that may decide to go public with their posts and to make those users aware of such operations if they opt in to become public. If they fail to disclose this information, this may persuade users to minimize the use of their services or possibly leave the platform altogether.

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