Online advertising has become a pervasive part of using the internet. Personally, I have very little qualms with the supposed ethical issues that come along with data collection. When we buy something I do not think it unreasonable or unethical for a company to keep track of that to try and tailor their product offerings to me. In fact, I think it is convenient and a great way to reach consumers in a new and more efficient method. The way I understand data collection based on personal experience and through the reading nothing seems unethical in the collection method. Companies use public information provided by the consumer. The only minor improvement would be if there were times a company purchases the information maybe a disclosure would go to the consumer so they know there information is being utilized more. I agree with the meme referenced earlier and my position is supported by a quote from an Atlantic article, “free is a good price,” Pew said in its report. People like no-cost services, and are willing to forfeit some privacy in exchange for them. An individual’s data has become its own kind of currency. One survey respondent, referring to his use of Gmail, said: “To be honest, I don’t really care … I use Gmail for free, but I know that Google will capture some information in return. I’m fine with that.”
I do not believe companies should be able to sell consumer data they have collected but if there are public records that can be purchased that is ok. Currently, I do not think the government would need consumer information so I do not think they should have access to it. However, the world is never in a stagnate state and maybe in the future there could be a reasonable cause for the government needing the information. The unethical portion of the big data mining I felt would be more related to looking at someone’s spending habits and increasing their interest rates and denying mortgages. I think it would be reasonable to create a profile of someone and put them into a “high-risk watch” category and raise rates if they miss a payment but I do not believe in preemptive changes based purely purchasing habits. Another Atlantic article seems to summarize the main reason against big data, “This is about protecting consumers from profit-seeking corporations, who are gaining an insurmountable edge in their efforts to get people to part with their money.” This argument is too simplistic for me and I don’t believe companies are trying to abuse their consumer base into buying their products. It’s not like a targeted ad will force a consumer to buy the product, this argument is a does disserve to the general consumer by equating them to mindless consumers who will accept and purchase anything if a good advertisement is put in front of them.
Finally, I personally use an ad blocking service so I am biased on this final point. I think online advertising is annoying but primarily use the ad blocking to prevent spam and viruses. If there is a website purely with relevant target advertisements I would not mind removing an ad blocker. I however think using one is ethical because you should not be forced to look at advertisements unless you want to see them.
programming ethics 