Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Taken in isolation, consequentialist ethics would dictate that Yahoo allow the parents access to Mr. Ellsworth's email.
However, in today's legal environment, such actions cannot reasonably be taken in isolation. If Yahoo sets a precedent, they will be asked to release this information time and again in this circumstance. They would also need to defend against abuse of this by demanding proof of death, and other such burdening verifications. While duplicating a right action many times over only yields multiple right actions, surrendering the account access could create a precedent by which privacy rights could be violated in other instances. If in those instances harm is done to living persons, then the consequences would flow back to that original decision, rendering it immoral. Thus, the morality of this decision is guided in part by the likelihood that this decision would start the company down this particular slippery slope.
Yahoo decided to wait for a court order to release the email. From a consequentialist perspective, Yahoo was uncertain of whether or not their decision would ultimately be a morally right one. Thus, they deferred the matter to the courts. The company's interest is to protect its shareholders, and upholding its contracts is a part of that commitment. Therefore, it would have been unreasonable for Yahoo to follow a consequentialist approach in this question at all. The consequences of breaking the privacy contract without court order could have led to a reduction in Yahoo's customer base, as other firms would be viewed as having better privacy integrity. Thus, Yahoo viewed their...
From a deontological position, this is wrong, unless the judge views the rights of the deceased to be now irrelevant. From a consequentialist perspective, the situation was resolved well. The parents no longer had to suffer and the specific court order allowed other Yahoo customers (and indeed those of any email provider) to retain their privacy rights, thereby reducing suffering of the general public. Likewise, Yahoo did not suffer, nor did their shareholders, because the release of access was spurred by court order. For all involved, a resolution was created that worked under a consequentialist perspective. This appears to hinge on the consequentialist view that the dead man's rights no longer exist, because he cannot suffer harm at this point. The deontological perspective takes its morality from the original agreement between Mr. Ellsworth and Yahoo, ascribing no significance to the fact that he is now deceased, since the agreement was made in good faith and at that point dictated the morality of Yahoo's actions with regards to the account from that point forward.
Works Cited:
Alexander, Larry & Moore, Michael. (2007). Deontological Ethics. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved September 16, 2009 from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-deontological/
Sinnot-Armstrong, William. (2006). Consequentialism. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved September 16, 2009 from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/consequentialism/
Works Cited:
Alexander, Larry & Moore, Michael. (2007). Deontological Ethics. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved September 16, 2009 from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-deontological/
Sinnot-Armstrong, William. (2006). Consequentialism. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved September 16, 2009 from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/consequentialism/
The fact that the country's huge social instability and unemployment rate is somewhat alleviated by counterfeiting also encourages the police to ignore the problem. Pfizer adopted a 4-prod approach to their problem - and this is actually a recommendation for all companies to adopt as means of problem-resolution: the problem was delineated Investigation was conducted into the extent of the problem Plans were brainstorming A specific plan was adopted and implements. Their first step was
Piracy Over the last couple of years the issue of internet piracy has become extremely heated, both because piracy has become easier and copyright holders have become more determined to stop pirates. Because copyright holders like the movie and recording industry have money on their side, they also have the government on their side, earlier this year that combination resulted in the attempted passage of the Stop Online Piracy Act, or
Sony Corporation The recorded music industry is in a state of flux. Thanks to technology, new opportunities have been made available, however, new challenges have emerged as well. The most significant concern is piracy, especially with peer-to-peer file sharing over the Internet. Sony Corporation's business unit, Sony BMG, is a new merger of Sony Music Entertainment and Bertelsmann AG. The merger occurred as an effort to take advantage of economies of scale
Latin Music Industry Problems The global music industry has suffered a three fold attack on its profitiabiithy in the recent years. From three separate sectors new technology has affected the abilty of the music industry to make a profit, and continue to support the artist which make the industry possible. If these three areas are not addressed in the political, and legal arena in the near futre, the health and well
The Boston Matrix 1. Cash Cow: DVDs and DVD recorders are excellent sources of profit and revenues for Sony, as they have been for the last couple of years. Additionally, the electronics and game consoles, especially Playstation 2, even if encountering losses in 2004, may also be included in this category, as having a still consistent market share. 2. Dog: The classic CRT TVs and games software have encountered significant losses and
Role of Technology in Corporate and Social Responsibility Insider trading. The insider trading case that has become most prominent is that against Raj Rajaratnam who ran the hedgefund Galleon Group, and was charged along with his co-defendant, Danielle Chiesi, a former consultant with New Castle Funds, LLC ("Insider Trading," 2010). Rajaratnam was convicted of 14 counts of insider trading, which makes this case the largest scheme concocted by a hedge fund