Ethics over Profit

Cambridge Analytica was the scandal that started it all.

But the global data privacy crisis has taken on a life of its own, churning out an increasing number of victims every year, with each case more severe and far-reaching than the last. In fact, the digital era has been littered with data breaches. Which really makes everyone wonder if there’s anyone left who still believes in ethics over profits.
Striking this balance between protocols and profits is the biggest challenge for all these big data firms nowdays.

“Privacy is not an option, and it shouldn’t be the price we accept for just getting on the Internet.”

Here are some of the biggest data scandals we’ve seen so far.

1) Facebook

The popular social media site has been plagued by privacy issues over the years. Its highest-profile problem was in October 2010, when Facebook admitted that its top 10 most popular applications including FarmVille and Texas Hold`em shared user data, including names and friends’ names, with advertisers. A Wall Street Journal investigation uncovered the Facebook privacy breach and said it affected tens of millions of users, including some that had used Facebook’s most stringent privacy settings. Facebook had previously been in trouble for transmitting user ID numbers to advertising companies when users clicked on ads. In November 2011, facebook settled a case with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission about several incidents and agreed to 20 years of third-party privacy audits.
The latest breach came to light in early 2018, involving Cambridge Analytica, a political data firm hired by President Trump’s 2016 election campaign, which harvested private information of more than 87 million of Facebook users without their consent, to support the election campaign.

2) Google

In May 2007, Google added its Street View feature to Google Maps, and it has been battling privacy complaints, paying fines and facing audits ever since. Google Street View provides panoramic views of streets gathered by webcams. It prompted privacy worries for showing men leaving strip clubs, people entering adult bookstores, and people picking up prostitutes, among other activities. Google allows users to flag worrisome images for removal and added a blurring feature for faces and license plates. Nonetheless, Street Views has run into privacy battles with Switzerland, France, Belgium, Germany and South Korea, to name a few countries. France fined Google the equivalent of $142,000 in March 2011 related to Street Views, but an August 2011 review by the U.K. government gave google positive marks for improving the privacy of Street View. Meanwhile, Google must undergo regular privacy audits mandated by the FTC for the next 20 years as the result of a settlement over improper privacy disclosures in its now-defunct Buzz social media service.

3) Disney

U.S. Web sites that target children for subscriptions or sales must comply with special rules aimed at gathering permission from parents under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). In May, 2011, Disney’s Playdom, Inc. had the dubious honor of paying the largest ever COPPA fine, which was a $3 million civil penalty from the FTC for gathering and sharing personal information about hundreds of thousands of children without parental consent. Playdom, which runs the popular Pony Stars site, collected kids’ ages and email addresses and allowed them to post their full names and locations. Other sites that have run afoul of COPPA rules include blogging outlet Xanga.com and mobile app developer Broken Thumbs.

4) Siemens AG

Foreign companies that do business onshore in the U.S. also fall under the provisions of the FCPA. According to reports from the New York Times and the SEC, Siemens AG, a German engineering firm, ran afoul of the law in 2008 when it was charged for paying $16 million to the President of Argentina to secure a contract for making Argentinean identity cards. The contract was worth $1 billion to Siemens AG. In total, the company was accused of paying more than $100 million in total to government officials. Eight former employees and contractors continue to face charges in the scheme. Siemens settled with the Department of Justice and paid $1.6 billion in fines in the U.S. and Germany.

“Companies can focus on profits and shareholder value, but stakeholder approach is more important,” says Murat Kristal, Director of the Master of Business Analytics program at the Schulich School of Business. “Focus on your actions and their greater societal impact.”

“Data is the new gold, but how are you going to mine that gold? Are you going to mine it while affecting others in a negative way, or are you going to be responsible?”

The future of technology is not fixed. Addressing the problems facing us will require all kinds of efforts. But one thing that needs to happen is that ethical considerations must be brought to the fore.
Technology’s ethical deficit needs disrupting. And Fast.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.

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