Internet privacy violations on social media platforms and other ethical issues

Ethics and the Internet

Use of the internet has improved immensely in the recent past. However, this improvement has brought an increase in the ethical issues. In this research paper, there is the determination of some of the ethical issues that arise from the internet. These include the issue of privacy to individuals who use social media such as Face book. Another issue is the indecency that arises out of the use of the internet. There is also a discussion on defamation in the internet and the limitations that occur from the freedom of speech within the internet. Finally, there is a discussion on the intellectual property and how it is affected by the internet.

Ethics and the Internet

Introduction

There are many ethical issues that arise on the mention of the internet. These are matters that the internet does not consider in the lives of the online world, like they are of consideration in the real world. There are instances where the rights of the users of the internet are under violation. Ethical issues are still not taken seriously in the internet world. A clear indication of this is the constant issues of people complaining that there had been an infringement of their privacy (McKee & Porter, 2009, p3). It is imperative that there is maintenance of each individual's privacy, even when it is on the internet. However, this has either been partially ignored, or it has just never been in existence. This aside, there are reports of indecency in the internet that has adverse effects in the social life of individuals (Soifer, 2009, p538). In this same perspective, there has been a gradual increase in the crimes that occur within the internet and also the levels of fraud seem to be on the rise. However, there are measures that can be taken by some of the leading companies that have the most visitors in the internet. Through Google and Face book, there are measures that can be put in place if these issues were to be resolved.

Privacy Issues

It has been a challenge to maintain the privacy of an individual in the internet. An example of this is in Face book. This social site provides a venue where people can meet and interact. This is the key reason that has influenced many people to join the bandwagon and get on the website. However, this does not mean that individuals in this website do not want to maintain their privacy. There is a dire need for maintenance of each individual's privacy. However, this is not the case when it comes to Face book. If anything, this is the venue where people can steal information about others secretly. The company had a terrific start in 2004. This was the year of creation of the company. During this period, there were measures that enabled the privacy of all the people who joined the website (O'Bien & Torres, 2012, pg 64). All the new users of the website were subject to some restrictive default settings. These settings ensured that there was adequate security for all users. There were restrictions on the amount of information that others could see in the profiles of an individual. This was the case also with photos and updates of the users.

However, there have been changes recently that have triggered for the calls of the privacy policies. Currently, when new users register for the service, they receive default privacy settings. These settings can be later changes, although remarkably few do this due to the complexity of the process. As a result, most people ignore it and leave the settings at default. This leaves the accounts of such people at risk. With these settings, there is exposure of the privacy of individuals. Anyone can now view the information of the user in full. Also, the photos that an individual posts on the site are also available for the viewing of all the other individuals who are users of the website (Butler, 2011, p44). This means that even people who are not available as friends. This practically means that the information on the individual is accessible in the whole website. This provides the ethical issue of privacy. The people who are on the website do not have the basic privacy that is adequate enough. This is just a fair representation of the whole internet. The argument that Face book has for the current situation is that the system offers more interactivity. This means that people who are not friends can see information of other people in the website which is likely to lead to an interest in the person. Resultantly, they start interacting and become friends.

There are several theories that are attributable to the actions of Face book. The main reason as to why the company may be avoiding this privacy issue is the profits. In this current version, a user has the ability to see all the updates of all the other members in the news feed. This creates a situation where the company is able to reach many people using this method. Psychologically, this creates a situation where the user feels that they are in a big network. Therefore, the user spends extra time on the site on the lookout for some information (O'Bien & Torres, 2012, pg 66). This represents an increase in profits for the company. It also gives a chance for the Face book ads to reach more people. It is, therefore, safe to assume that the main reason why the company avoids the issue on privacy is the profits that they are likely to garner from these actions.

The other actions that involve outside companies targeting specific people with ads is also a breach to privacy. Whenever an individual purchases an item from another website, this reflects on the news feed of the other users. This creates an awkward situation especially of people did not want others to know the sort of items that they buy. This is the same case with reading of articles. On an individual reading an article from another source, all the others are notified of the same. Again, this is an intrusion to the privacy of these people who do not want interference in their lives. The issue on privacy also affects the other friends. Through the current state of the site, it is easy for people to be tagged as to having gone to places with friends. However, the company views this as a chance of interaction. It also views this as extra entertainment other than just the normal system of comments and statuses. The problem arises when people are said to have attended events or gone to places that might be uncomfortable for them. Also, with the default settings, it is possible for anyone to add others to groups and create events without the consent of the users. Therefore, for all these privacy issues, the company should do away with the default settings. The privacy settings should also be clear enough for all users. This will prompt all users to have a close look at the settings and to choose the best ones for them.

Another leading interaction site, Google, is in dire need of changes in the privacy settings. In the recent past, Google has changes the privacy setting of the individuals' accounts. The worst part about this is that there is nothing that the user can do about that. Recently, the company oversaw the introduction of a new policy. This policy entails that the company will integrate all the activities that an individual does in all websites that have an affiliation with Google (Waward, 2012, p1). This includes the collection of information from all the services from this company. This includes Gmail and the searches that an individual makes. These also include the services of Picasa and YouTube. Through this information, the company has the ability to collect all the information that they require about the user. They claim that they lay on this action is that they will offer better services to these users. However, considering that the company also collects information from third parties without the consent of the user, this is a breach of privacy (PR, 2012, p3). The company should make the privacy settings of the website to the choice of the user. This way, the user will control the information that is shareable with the others.

Indecency and the internet

There is no protection for individuals on the information that they receive from the internet. Face book is a venue where there are all sorts of people. These people are from different cultures and resultantly have variations in their mannerisms. This diversity brings some negative effects on the site. Some users readily post some information that is not suitable to all users. This includes updates and photos. Some of the photos that the users post are not suitable to all the other users because of sexual overtones. Some of them are even too vulgar to be given the description of pornographic. The problem is that there is no protection against this issue. This is due to the newsfeed in the profile of each user. The argument of the company is that the news feed will ensure the users get to see more content from others. however, this means that there is no certainty of the next item that the user will see on the news feed. This is a serious privacy issue to the user because they cannot view their news feed at free will because of fear on the content of the feed (Milenkovski, 2011, p1). This limits the convenience of this site to the users because of the indecency that arises out of the website.

In this instance, the company should introduce appropriate measures to curb against this issue on indecency. There should be software that detects some indecent language. This will then inhibit the viewing of such information to the public. It is necessary that there are regulations that curb the posting of photos. Some of the photos that are posted on the website are not appropriate for all the users due to their indecent nature. Furthermore, there is some information and photos that is fundamentally not convenient to the whole fraternity of Face book. An example is discrimination content against some parties. The company has to introduce some privacy policies that ensure that the user can only view the content that they deem suitable for them. This will ensure that users are not exposed to these photos. The social site should also make policies that regulate on the type of content that should be posted by users. Through the abolishment of this content that has a lot of indecency, most users will not have to fear for their privacy and the caution that they normally have when on the website due to indecency (Freishtar, 2010, p512).

Google is particularly affected by indecency a lot. This is due to the easy availability of indecent material in the search pages of the website. It is extremely easy for users of this service to find suggestions that offer pornographic content. The main issue arises when there is no clear indication as to who should have access to this material. This is because of the lack of enough regulations that control this area. In most cases, Google ask the user whether they are of legal age. This does not serve the purpose since any of the users can falsely consent to this question. Thus, even children gain access to the pornographic content by this mere consent. Some of these links lead to YouTube where users can watch videos of some pornographic material (Hong, 2008, p3). This leads to indecency in the culture of the children who gain easy access to this material. It was due to this issue on indecency that the China government took action against the company. Google offers these services with the intention of profits. Also, the comoany believes that this would be an infringement to the freedom of speech to the users of the website. All this can be avoided if there are appropriate policies. Google should tighten the privacy policies by removing all the links that lead to indecency. One way to do this is to disable pornographic suggestion in the searches. In some instances, the company should block pornographic links totally.

Internet and Intellectual property

Some individuals invent ideas that have not been in use before. This is the intellectually property. There has to be protection from this due to the high chances of theft of ideas by other people. This idea could provide the financial breakthrough of the individual or it would just put them on the map as inventors. The material that is invented in the recent past is mostly on a technological basis with the majority being apps. Some people take to Face book to try and steal the ideas from other people then recollect them for their own benefit. This could be through analyzing of forums where people discuss these issues (Winterfedlt, 2012, p22). However, Face book does have a policy that ensures that there is total protection of the ideas. This is through the companies' statement on responsibilities. It is imperative that the ideas of individuals are protected. The company could also consider regulating the forums to ensure that the issues discussed are not stolen by others. Also, the company should check for the validity of the ideas of the developers who approach the company for a chance of a partnership (Strand, 2011, p110). The same should apply to Google where many people look for information. This could be through the patenting of ideas before they are posted on the website. This gives credit to the owners of the intellectual property and discourages the thieves (Eko & Qingjiang, 2012, p12).

Conclusion

The internet is an excellent source of entertainment to many. This is especially in the social media where people interact and share ideas. However, there are ethical issues that result from the internet. In most situations, the websites do not consider it a big issue because of the profits that they receive. These issues include the privacy of individuals. Face book has been under criticism for its extremely weak measures in the regulation of privacy. There is adequate evidence that the company does not offer the best privacy protection to users of the site. The ethical issue on defamation is also another crucial issue in this field. This is where some individuals take to Face book to post information about others without regulation. Google does not offer any protection against this and states that they have no right to remove the information. Through the internet, there is a chance that there is theft of intellectual property. These are just examples of the ethical issues that the internet brings on the society. Therefore, as much as the growth of the value in the internet is excellent there should be serious regulations that curb the ethical issues that arise.