In the context of software engineering, being ethical means to have commitment as a developer in making their development, design, and maintenance of software beneficial. Also in par with the commitment, the developer is held responsible in being ethical in their decision-making, and understand the impacts that their work may do and that it supports the public. The efforts in their work are meant to be used for good rather than harm. By being able to behave ethically as a software engineer, you are able to contribute to society, and benefit a lot in someone’s well-being.
After reading all of the case studies, the case study I decided to analyze with respect to its ethical implications is Privacy. Privacy is a big issue in regards of being an ethical and legal concern in software. There has been a lot debate about it, and with new technology advancing, can we really trust anything that is out there?
One of the general ethical principles, according to the ACM Code of Ethics, is to respect privacy. When Google launched its StreetView feature, I would say that a lot of privacy of the users were broken down into. There was access to literally everything. You can have a clear view of someone’s house, or you might even see someone you know doing something that should be have been confidential. This then leads to harm in some way, which applies to a general code of ethic, ‘Avoid harm’. The photos in display was being used by burglars and other criminals to identify their ideal targets. They easily had access to what houses looks like, so they would take advantage of the feature. It makes people vulnerable to anything, and I don’t think they want to be in that position.
Then in 2010, there was another privacy scandal that Google encountered where they had been collecting a lot of personal information through their vehicles. According to the ACM Code of Ethics, ‘Only the minimum amount of personal information necessary should be collected in a system’, and clearly be, ‘… communicated to data subjects’. The fact that the users had no knowledge that their information was being taken before Google got exposed, makes this unethical. They were collecting automatic data without consent, and didn’t state what the information was going to be used for. After all of the lawsuits and scandals that Google has been through, I am glad they acknowledged what they have done and are training and educating their employees about privacy. As an aspiring computing professional, I will take the time to understand all of the code of ethics and general ethic principles in order to not be a part of something that isn’t ethical to anyone.
After reading the case study regarding privacy, especially about Google, my personal opinion as to the ethical stance to be taken is be honest and let users know what information will be used and collected from them. It then allows the users to decide whether or not to continue using the software. It really depends on what they define as privacy, and whether or not they consent to having their information collected and be used. Since privacy is a legally protected right, the developer should understand and oversee the implications that their software may occur in, and how their clients will be affected. Also, even in the case that a company trains its employees about privacy, such as Google, it better for the engineer to already know the code of ethics and communicate whether their work is ethical to continue so.