Computing Ethics
18 Apr 2019
Ethics within the realm of Computer Science has always been something that has sat at the back of my head, as I always wonder how the programs and software I write and create will play a part within the world that they are deployed into. I’ve never had to worry about that thus far, as the projects and programs I have worked on have never been given out for public use, and stayed within the comfort of UH Manoa. Ethics for me, within the world of Computer Science, is making sure that the programs that are created are used in a manner that benefits the well being of society as a whole, and making sure the program is not used maliciously.
One aspect that has to do with ethics is how Software Engineers deal with user privacy. I personally think that user privacy is the utmost concern when dealing with publicly released programs and apps. Users may have to put in very personal information, like a credit card or an address. However, with the release of google earth and street view, it adds another privacy issue. They initially failed to address the problem and make sure that they protected the privacy of the individual’s People around the world, where Google street view is available, would have their pictures were taken, as well as places of residence. A case study was done, and Google had a lot of issues regarding privacy. People reported having been seen leaving adult bookstores, women leaving abortion clinics and nude individuals were caught on the google street view camera. Google was also caught storing user information such as SSID’s, device identifiers, medical and financial records, passwords and email content. Google initially claimed that they did not store the information but over time revealed that they stored fragments, and they were found guilty and 9 out of the 12 countries who were investigating them found them breaking wiretap laws.
Obviously, Google was not acting ethically based on the actions they took with Wiretapping and Google Earth privacy breach, and their failure to approach the issue properly. After I’ve read about other issues that other companies such as Facebook, came across, and it seems as if these big companies do not directly approach the issue at hand. They all seem to blow it off until they caught red-handed and are in the spotlight. I think that Google and other big companies regardless of the consequences should own up to the illicit things they have done whether it be intentional or unintentional. Owning up to wrongdoing and addressing it directly, is much better than hiding it. Users and individuals privacy should be the utmost importance when dealing with programs and software that has used by the public, not the reputation of a company.