In today’s world, many technology companies work on the business model of providing services to users at no monetary cost. Instead, they require a price of information, which they can collect and categorize, to use for various purposes. I actually do not have a problem with this concept as an economic model, especially considering the immense value that users often get from these “free” services. This model allows all people, regardless of socio-economic status (to a point) to share in the same valuable products and services, as all people have valuable information to share. It is a little scary how quickly and pervasively this new setup has entered our modern world, but overall I believe that it will open the door to the betterment of both parties. The ethical concerns arise when that data is put to use, such as in online advertising.
As a concept, I also have no issue with targeted advertising. It benefits both the advertisers, who will see a much improved interaction rate, and the consumer, who will see adds that are actually relevant to them. I understand that some people are uncomfortable or annoyed with being advertised to in general, and that’s ok. For those who do not shut off the advertising systems, I believe that they would rather see interesting adds than things that have no real meaning or value to them. The ethical issue that arises then is providing adds in an appropriate manner, and using the personal data in an ethical manner. Unfortunately, many advertisers seem to employ various tactics that are designed to force the user to pay attention. This can take the form of a large pop-up ad, an annoying sound, or difficult closure method, for instance. It is unethical in my opinion for advertisers to craft ads that are deliberately disruptive, deceitful, or unintuitive. This is not in line with the expectation of the sites that display these advertisements, which rely on them to maintain a good user experience. If the ads are poor, then the user experience goes down, and the entire value of the site goes with it. Therefore, intrusive ads are a long-term loss for both parties. Therefore, advertisers are obligated to themselves, their providers, and their users, to create pleasant, effective ad experiences.
The other ethical concern with advertising is the acquisition and use of data. As I have mentioned above, I do not have a problem with companies collecting data. I do however believe there should be more governance on how that data should be handled, protected, and distributed. The thought of selling this data to other parties concerns me, especially when such a marketplace has little to no regulation. I would much prefer for my data to stay in the hands of the company that collects it, as they are the ones I have made the “transaction” with. Even for only that company, there are ways to utilize this data effectively, as can be seen with the success of Google’s Adwords program. However, I realize that this kind of system puts smaller companies at a disadvantage, as in order to collect meaningful data, you must collect from a large set of users. Therefore, I would like to see more rules applied to keep data that is sold or transferred anonymized to protect privacy. It will be important to have the ability to keep companies accountable, and punish poor business practices in this regard as can be done in other industries, such as the stock market.
kosercseethics 