Ethics of Privacy

Privacy, a very strong word, what does it mean? To be hidden or secluded, from the view or presence of others. (Privacy) What right do we have to privacy? I wish I could tell you all the right in the world but be that as it may it is not entirely true. Yes, it is one of our many human rights, but to what extent? In our original bill of rights not only is the terms of privacy not spelled out but the word itself isn’t mentioned at all. (Adam Carlyle Breckenridge, 1970, p. 4) It wasn’t until the late twentieth century when the Privacy Act of 1988 was amended.

So that being said what importance does it have in today’s world of business? Well a lot of course. Fast food franchises have their “secret special sauce,” employees actually have to sign an agreement to never spill the beans per se. Along with the employees of most all companies, must sign some type of agreement to bare the responsibility to not disclose private company information.

As far as ethical theory goes, there are many debates about the issue of privacy. Take the Egalitarian view versus the Prioritarian view for instance. Egalitarian is the belief that all men and women are created equal and is central to justice. Where Prioritarian believe equality is definitely is not the foundation to justice, and holds no moral weight. Egalitarians believe that because we are all create equal that if an individual is facing a horrible situation they are responsible for being in said situation and should be able to handle it themselves. (Stewart-Gordon, 2008)

For example a woman in your neighborhood is constantly being battered by her spouse. She has bruises on her face and body every day. As an Egalitarian you would look at the situation as “she had the same chances everyone else has, she chose the road she’s on. If she is unhappy she can get herself out of that mess. Where a Prioritarian would see this woman clearly needs outside help. They would report the abuse of their neighbor to the police, even make suggestions to call a hotline and seek help for her delicate situation. Clearly, in some respect the Prioritarian way would be to some degree an invasion of privacy. But, is it wrong?

Privacy in the workplace can be seen the same. A company may have a new ground breaking product in the development stage, and if an employee of said company sees the opportunity to sell the idea to the competitor, the employee is not only wrong ethically but in every sense of the word. Now the competitor will rush the process and patent the idea and sell it as their own product, and reap the rewards of being first to hit the market with said product.  Now the company, who originally designed the product, will lose out.

In my opinion privacy is very important, in everyday life and in today’s business world. Maybe on this subject I lean more towards the Prioritarian way of thinking. Yes, I believe there are many things that should remain private but when the moral, physical well-being or any of the other human rights of an individual is in jeopardy, I second the emotion for outside help or invasion of privacy. The issue of privacy is very delicate and shouldn’t be taken lightly.

Please check out more articles at http://www.bizbloggin.com