Societal Ethical Changes Caused by Information Technology

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Ethical issues regarding the use of information technology are changing rapidly in our advancing modern society. Historically information technology had seen limited applications and impacts on society in general. More recently, however, this has been changing as information technology has become a part of nearly every business, and personal activity (Brooks, 2010). As a result, there are more opportunities than ever to engage with information technology in an unethical manner. Thus, it has become essential for businesses, and education systems to address the ethical concerns of information technology usage, and to develop a practical code of ethics to prevent, or at least mitigate, ethical issues and potential infractions.
Societal Ethical Changes Caused by Information Technology
The societal ethical changes caused by information technology are extensive in nature. In prior generations, information technology was limited within specific industries, there was an elitist segregation related to who worked with information technology, and what types of specific information could be impacted by information technology (Brooks, 2010). The nature of information technology changed during the timeframe of the 1990s when information technology emerged as a rapidly evolving industry. Within a matter of what encompassed a few years, the world transitioned from a manual world to a digitally controlled world (Lor, & Britz, 2007). Today, nearly every individual interacts with some form of information technology on a daily basis. For many, this interaction is practically non-stop from the time the individual wakes up in the morning until they go to sleep at night. As a result, a large number of people today have greater access to inform...

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...:10.1108/02640470710829514
Gercke, M. (2012). Understanding cybercrime: Phenomena, challenges and legal response. ITU Telecommunications Development Bureau Retrieved May 10, 2013, from http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/cyb/cybersecurity/docs/Cybercrime%20legislation%20EV6.pdf
King, A. (2010). Constitutionality of cyberbullying laws: Keeping the online playground safe for both teens and free speech. Vanderbilt Law Review, 63(3), 845-884.
Lor, P., & Britz, J. (2007). Is a knowledge society possible without freedom of access to information? Journal of Information Science, 33(4), 387-397. doi:10.1177/016555150607532 7
Mingers, J., & Walsham, G. (2010). Toward ethical information systems: The contribution of discourse ethics. MIS Quarterly, 34(4), 833-854.
Schwartz, M. (2000). Why ethical codes constitute an unconscionable regression. Journal of Business Ethics, 23(2), 173-184.

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