MIS066 E-Business Management PDF

5 : E-Commerce Ethics  Since e-commerce, which can be defined as the conduct of all or part of a business's marketing activities via electronic media such as the internet, affects social and commercial life and causes some changes in these areas, there is a need to reconsider the ethical rules...

5 : E-Commerce Ethics  Since e-commerce, which can be defined as the conduct of all or part of a business's marketing activities via electronic media such as the internet, affects social and commercial life and causes some changes in these areas, there is a need to reconsider the ethical rules related to these issues.  In terms of e-commerce ethics, there is both the adaptation of ethical issues mentioned in traditional marketing to the new conditions required by e- commerce, and the emergence of some completely new ethical issues due to the nature of the internet.  Ethics, in its simplest definition, can be defined as a set of rules used to distinguish right from wrong.  In other words, ethics is the branch of science that examines moral duties and responsibilities.  E-commerce ethics is the adaptation of ethical rules to electronic commerce.  In some sources, the term "netiquette" is used, meaning internet ethics.  Netiquette is formed by combining the English words "Net" (network) and "Etiquette" (ethics, morality).  One of the important features of ethical rules is that these rules can change over time.  Especially the impact of technological developments on commercial and social life requires the reconsideration of ethical rules related to these issues.  For example, one of the results of technological development is that one person's decision can affect a much larger number of people.  As technology develops and changes human life, ethical rules must also keep up with this change.  Ethical issues that come to the fore regarding online commerce:  Issues related to the security of transactions made online:  Providing personal information and credit card information to virtual companies whose reliability is unknown, and malicious people seizing information used while shopping from a reliable company. *Problems related to the security of data in companies’ databases: Problems such as unauthorized access to data in a company’s database can be considered in this context. For example, serious ethical problems arise when credit card information in the database of a company with hundreds of thousands of customers across the country is accessed by malicious people. * Lack of legal regulations regarding electronic commerce: In many countries, penalties for crimes committed via the internet are undefined or incomplete. In addition, the existence of different legal practices in different countries can be considered in the same context for electronic commerce, which has an international character.  Because, committing some virtual crimes using countries that do not have legal regulations regarding electronic commerce will not reduce the impact of the crime, but it may significantly reduce the amount of the penalty.  This situation is also an important ethical problem that needs to be solved.  Use of cookies: It is possible to track the user's personal information and activities on the internet thanks to small software called "cookies" placed on users' computers. Another important ethical problem that needs to be solved is that cookies, which have a purpose such as recognizing the same person when they enter a site for the second time, are not always used in good faith or that transactions and personal information are obtained without the user's consent thanks to these cookies.  Concerns about the ease of collecting personal information entered to become a member of a website on the Internet: The number of websites that operate with a membership system is increasing day by day. However, entering personal information on many sites increases the problems with the confidentiality of this information.  The necessity of specifying whether an article on the internet is informative or commercial: The amount of information available to users on the internet is increasing day by day. However, especially in some sectors such as health, education, and retail, concerns about whether the information provided is objectively informative or commercial, and sharing this with the user are also problems that need to be resolved ethically. *Not everyone has equal access to the internet (inequality of access): Since a healthy infrastructure requires significant investment, the internet is more common in developed countries. However, a large portion of the world's population still lacks an internet connection.  This difference, which occurs in terms of both personal and institutional connections, is called internet inequality. Not everyone has equal access to the internet, which leads to inequality among people, and this situation is considered unethical, especially in terms of equal opportunities. *Special problems related to certain sectors: Some sectors, such as the health sector, are very important for human life. Some practices that are not considered a problem in other sectors can cause serious problems in vital sectors such as health and security. For example, presenting a diet that can lead to fatal results without a doctor's control only with its positive aspects on a health website is an application that can be considered in this context.  Attempting to prioritize commercial sites on search sites. For example, when a search is made using any keyword on a search site, a result where commercial sites that charge a fee are prioritized, even though there are sites that are more suitable for the searched word, is an ethically debatable practice. *Copyright problems: For example, ethical problems such as imitating a famous brand's website name (www.trendyol.com) with another domain (www.trendyol.com.tr) or using addresses such as www.gogle.com to deceive people who misspell one of the letters when trying to type www.google.com can be considered within this scope.  The failure of ethical rules to keep up with the pace of change in the internet and similar technologies is also among the problems waiting for a solution. Because in some cases, a new form of transaction or marketing method is developed thanks to the rapid development of technology, but the development of ethical codes that regulate this situation is not as fast.  Privacy of Personal Information  Thanks to the internet, both the personal information that the user provides when registering to the site; and the records of their shopping and browsing on the websites are kept in the databases of the businesses, and thus, it is possible to offer a personalized shopping site or to reach customers with personalized commercial e-mails.  Itis even possible to share this information with other sites and offer products and services that are suitable for the habits of a customer even on a site they visit for the first time. This situation often benefits both the businesses and the customers, but it also brings with it some ethical problems.  Because, just like the records the customer enters, the records during their shopping are also personal, and not every customer wants their shopping records to be kept or known by others.  Many users are not aware that all mouse clicks and purchases made during shopping are recorded. Customer records during shopping are also personal, and not every customer wants their shopping records to be kept or known by others. It is also an ethically problematic issue for businesses to share information about consumers with other businesses.  Ifa commercial group with many shopping sites wants to use the data it obtained on one site about the user on a second site, in this case, the user will need to transfer the data entered for only one company to the other company.  Although it is well-intentioned, it cannot be said that this transaction is ethically correct to do without the user's consent. In addition, similar transactions are carried out with malicious intent, such as marketing personal information for a fee or harming people with the help of this information, and these are more obvious ethical problems in this context.  Inorder to minimize the ethical issues that will arise from these problems regarding the confidentiality of personal information, some basic rules should be observed:  Providing Information: The consumer must be informed that their information is being collected and for what purposes this information will be used.  Choice: The consumer must have the right to decide whether the information collected from them will be used for the specified purposes.  Access: The consumer must be able to see all of the information collected from them at any time.  Security:Businesses are responsible for the security of the information they collect. They must take the necessary precautions to prevent this information from falling into the hands of unauthorized persons and otherwise suffer certain penalties.  Regulations: In order to ensure compliance with the rules, legal regulations and self-regulatory rules of the business must be established.