Question

I need a summary and your thought about this article.

Ethics In The Digital Age: Protect Others' Data As You Would Your Own

It has been a year since the European Union implemented its General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a landmark privacy law aimed at curtailing the widespread use of personal information – without the full understanding or consent of the people concerned– for monetary gain, especially by major tech companies. What seemed bold and daring in 2018 is being emulated all over the world in 2019, and in some cases even promoted by the same tech companies which GDPR was initially meant to target. California, the home of Silicon Valley and an epicenter of the data economy approved a similar law last year that will go into effect in 2020. As these regulations proliferate, finance professionals will have to contend with an ever-increasing thicket of new compliance requirements when handling the data of consumers, clients and employees. But such regulatory changes should prompt more than just compliance concerns. There is a reason why data privacy and protection have become such important political issues and have generated widespread support for stricter regulations: at heart, companies’ misuse of data is a profound ethical issue. And due to their unique role in processing and analyzing data, finance professionals find themselves at the center of ethical reflection and policy formulation. Management accountants and corporate finance departments must be instrumental in crafting new ethical guidelines and ensuring that all departments across the organization abide by them. But in an age when technology moves faster than ever before, and the growth of available data seems exponential, finance professionals may be unsure even of what the new regulatory requirements are, let alone where to draw the ethical red lines. In grappling with these challenges, finance professionals can look to three guidelines for handling data ethically and responsibly in the digital age: 1. Abide by laws and regulations. Aside from the difficulty of mastering the bewildering complexities of laws on data protection across jurisdictions, this is the “easiest” of three guidelines, as it entails merely obeying the ethical rules drawn up by others. Finance professionals have an obligation to meticulously keep up with the evolving legal standards in this field, adding an extra layer to existing compliance efforts. But finance professionals in the 21st century must go beyond compliance and think about ethics when the line between what is legal and what is right becomes blurred, as it often will in these complicated times. 2. Ensure they are using people’s data with their consent. In theory, an increasing amount of rights to data use is willingly signed over by people through digital acceptance of privacy policies. But a recent investigation by the European Commission, following up on the impact of GDPR, indicated that corporate privacy policies remain too difficult for consumers to understand or even read. When analyzing the ethics of using data, finance professionals must personally reflect on whether the way information is being used is consistent with how consumers, clients or employees understand and expect it to be used. Furthermore, they should question if data is being used in a way that is necessary for achieving business goals in an ethical manner. 3. Follow the “golden rule” when it comes to data. Finally, finance professionals must reflect on whether they would want their own personal information being used to further business goals in the way that they are helping their organization use the data of others. This goes beyond regulations and the fine print of privacy agreements: it is adherence to the ancient, universal standard of refusing to do to other people what you would not want done to yourself. Admittedly, this is subjective and difficult to define. But finance professionals will be confronted with many situations in which there are no clear answers, and they must have the ability to think about the ethical implications of actions that might not necessarily be illegal. Whatever new regulations arise in years to come, the data economy is here to stay. The ethical guidelines followed by management accountants will need to be updated and applied to entirely new situations, to protect the integrity of the profession and of the individuals who belong to it. Following these three general guidelines is a good place for those individuals to start.

Answer 1

Ethical implications are highly recommended for today's data privacy and data management system. Global communities should understand this issue and design a comprehensive plan of actions which secures our own as well others valuable data.

Actually, the need of hour is to promote ethical practices in digital economic activities. Our day to day life as well as our business transactions are transformed towards data based actions. Hence, regulators must have a plan which cares safety, security and availability of hassle free system.

Legally acceptable, moral, value based actions etc. should be given place in designing the data related policies and code of ethics by various organizations. Each stakeholders must be given full participation while designing such data related policies and guidelines.