Computer Ethics
Computer ethics is primarily concerned with the rules, procedures, practices, and values that preside over the process of computer technology use without violating the moral values and beliefs of other people or institutions. Computer ethics is increasingly becoming one of the most important aspects of Information Technology due to the spurring rates of cybercrimes, unauthorized access, illegal duplication of information, target marketing, and hacking. Computer ethics regulates human behavior intending to protect intellectual property, minimizing software piracy, exploits of cookies, and user privacy.
Computer ethics are crucial as they help to minimize software piracy. Software piracy is concerned with duplication or unauthorized access to computer programs and applications of other people and taking advantage of that to benefit from them. Software piracy is copyright infringement and violation through illegal distribution of information computer software and programs. So many people have lost their jobs in the Information Technology industry because third parties pirated their work after a successful invention of a program or application. Ethics plays a vital role in ensuring that software piracy is minimized in the industry to foster trust and integrity.
Due to the increasing use of adverts on the internet, most of the website owners have begun to take advantage of the user’s personal information to sell “space” for the advertisers. The web owners benefit from the users without the consent of the user, which makes it unethical. The adverts are customized to fit the consumer behavior of the users. This trend has been there all along until in 2019 when Google and other search engines improvised a mechanism through which for the website owners have to seek consent from the users before using the cookies information provided on the internet. However, it is not clear how the website owners use the cookies after they are granted the opportunity to access the information by the users.
User personal information is readily available on the internet, and anyone can access so long as they have a simple extraction software that endangers the privacy and security of the users. Computer ethics can solve this problem as it helps people to be rational and understand what is wrong and what is right. The common data that can be extracted from the internet include the address, Zip code, names, emails, phone numbers, and IP addresses. The fact that anyone can access the IP address he users, the security of the users is at stake. Ethics propagates a rational behavior that stipulates that one should not use the computer to harm others in the ten commandments of computer ethics.
Computer ethics enforce ethical practices in the use of computer resources by implementing methods and procedures that prevent any person or organization from infringing copyrights, patents, trademarks, or distribution of content when the source does not authorize it. The entire aspect of communicating and storage of valuable information in the IT industry has twisted to mitigate the presenting challenges that are brought about by the growth in the industry. To ensure that there is a fair use of the computer, ethics must be applied to solve problems such as the use of software piracy, exploits of cookies, and user privacy.