Software Piracy and Privacy Policy - Assignment Example

Software Piracy B1-Privacy-Related Matrix (12 Ethical dilemma: Software Piracy Stakeholders Autonomy Non-maleficence Vera Creator Creators have the right to develop software according to their preferences Creators have the duty not to harm through the software to other persons by any means It is the duty of creator to be truthful, i.e. the software must fulfill the expectations of users when it is purchased legally and used by genuine ways 2: Users Users have the right to select pirated or genuine software for their personal use The utilization of pirated software must not harm other persons It is the duty of users to strictly understand about different aspects and penalties of using pirated software 3: Internet Service Providers Internet service providers have the autonomy to deliver contents according to the wishes of creators The contents provided by internet service providers must not harm the interests of specific group or individual Internet service providers must be truthful to sell software products by legal and ethical means 4: Government Government must provide the autonomy to each stakeholder about the use of software for their interests Government must ensure that pirated software does not harm the interests of the original creator as well as other stakeholders It is the duty of government to tell the truth about software piracy The Dilemma (Software Piracy) Software consists of programs that are designed to perform specific tasks for the different classes of users. Today, software applications are widely being used by individuals, government and business organizations for a variety of purposes. The software programs’ utilities are numerous in certain areas such as hospitals, banking education and space studies. Software programs can be purchased from software vendors. Eventually, certain general purpose software programs are available on internet, as freeware and shareware. However, the freeware and shareware software do not have much capabilities that are owned by the retail software packages (University of West Florida, 2012). Software piracy can be defined as the illegal copying, distribution or in general the illegal use of software. In other words, software piracy can be described as copying of software programs by individuals or business organizations either with profit motive or to harm others. The advancement in technological systems and tools has not only a favorable impact on the society but has also contributed immensely towards software piracy throughout the globe. Software piracy has serious impacts both on national economy as well as on the software producing organizations. The software producing companies spend millions of Dollars on their research activities for inventing particular software. Unfortunately, a few individuals and organizations take negative advantage of the technological advancements bothering less about the nation’s economy and software producing organizations which results in the form of pirated software (Ohio Literacy Resource Centre, 2001). Consequently, such factors have attracted the interests of many researchers to choose software piracy as one of the largely debated ethical issues. Three Principles The three principles selected for the matrix include Autonomy, Non-maleficence and Veracity. Autonomy can be described as freedom of an individual to take his/her own decisions. Every individual is free to use genuine or pirated software which is solely based on the conscience of an individual to consider it as ethical or unethical. However, the decision an individual takes should not harm any other individual or group or it should be non-maleficence. At the same time, the decision should not violate the rules and the laws established by the state or federal government. The truth related to incurrence of any act in relation to software piracy should be brought into limelight so that any such occurrence of piracy in future can be prevented. It can also benefit to create awareness about software piracy and the harm that it can create to the users in the long run. Thus, the individuals have the right to chose products or take decisions but their decisions should in no case affect other individuals or groups and the decisions should coincide with legal requirements. These three principles when combined together contribute towards ethics. For these reasons, the above stated three principles are selected. Identification of the Matrix Action It is widely believed that ethical issues take place due to ubiquity of technology. Many a times, IT professionals and students have to face a situation where the choice has to be made. The aspect of software piracy is considered to be illegal in many of the countries. Piracy has social, political, economic and values attached to it. Hence, it can be stated that every individual has pre-conceived duties towards other groups. The creator has the autonomy to produce software but it should be ensured that it does not harm individuals or groups and at the same time should be able to deliver desired service as promised by the creator. On the other hand, users need to understand the ethical issues related to the use of pirated software and if a person uses pirated software it should not harm other individuals or groups. Government should provide each stakeholder with the autonomy to use software along with considering the national interest and making sure that an individual or an organization by utilization of software does not harm other individuals and stated rules and regulations are strictly followed by the users (University of West Florida, 2012). B2- Organizational Policy The advancement in technology has benefitted society in many ways. At the same time, it has given birth to many social, economic, political and ethical issues. Contextually, software piracy is one of the vital issues, which has been discussed largely. Hence, each organization should develop a software management policy on the purchase and utilization of software by the organizations and their employees. The organizations should ensure that they do not acquire, pirated software, copy or dispense such software or violate intellectual property laws like copyrights. The organizational policies may include: Licensed and properly accepted software are installed in the organization’s computers, personal computers and servers. The stated policy should also be valid for shareware, freeware as well as demonstration software All the software acquired by the organizations should have a license agreement with the software publishers. The agreement shall state criteria as to whom and how the software shall be utilized and distributed The organization should ensure that no software shall be installed for use for which no license has been procured or renewed The organization should strictly follow the terms and conditions stated by the software publishers and in no ways shall violate the stated terms and conditions The organization should ensure that each software installed on their computers are according to the copyright laws and they do not violate or infringe any intellectual laws in any form The organization should have proper record of paid invoice for the software acquired so that it can be produced at the time of the software audit It has to be made certain that the original software used is protected from intruders, who may remotely access or copy the software installed in the computers The organization should be committed towards using the original software. Furthermore, use of unlawful software or replication of software in any form should be considered as a serious offense and against the law The organization should inspect the software installed in the computers to ensure that the installed software is legitimately acquired The organizational software should not be installed in the personal system without the permission of the seniors accountable for managing the organizational information. Simultaneously, personally owned software should not be installed in the organization’s computer system as it may create a threat to the privacy of the organization Certain software such as freeware and shareware are available on the internet at free of cost for limited periods use in order to test the utility of the software. Such software should not be downloaded without the approval of the seniors The organization should educate its members relating to the use of original software and their responsibilities in protecting the privacy of the organization The organization should destroy those software that are obsolete and not use such software for which the company does not have proper license Password sharing with other members or individuals should be restricted. Such act will make the intruders to easily access the private information stored in the organization’s computer system The organization should upgrade its software programs and keep in track with the new release Any suspicious software installed within the organization has to be immediately reported to concerned authority Those employees or any member of the organization who fails to abide by the policies stated will be liable to legal and organizational actions. He/she shall be sued against the copyright laws and will be charged penalties on such activities The offender will be debarred or terminated from his/her post within the organization Source: (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2010). The stated policies will aid an organization from losing its vital information and secure its privacy. The use of authentic and licensed software will enable the organization to protect its critical information from intruders’ attacks. The use of authentic software benefits an organization in a number of ways. The authentic software can be full upgraded at discount price. Moreover, these software are reliable and are less vulnerable to malicious programs like viruses and worms. However, acquiring licensed software will be quite expensive. It will also require an additional supervision on the part of the organization. The policy may also create conflicts between the organization and the employees. The implementation of such policies may increase the workloads of the employees. The employees and the users will have to focus more on the software licensing and software agreements and less on their own work. This will reduce the productivity of the organization. The conflicts may tend to rise as the members have to comply with numerous restrictions and prohibitions relating to the use of software. The above framed policies shall act in a way that is in the best interest of the organization and the employees. The policies will ensure privacy of the organizational key information consistent with the organizational interests and the federal laws. The policies can promote ethical use of the software and help in reducing software piracy which is considered to be indeed unethical (IEEE Computer Society, 2005). If the policy is not followed, it will promote unethical activities. The organizations private and confidential information will be in a serious threat. The aspect of software piracy will drastically influence the software engineers, publishers of genuine software and most importantly the overall economy of a nation. Therefore, not only from an ethical point of view but also from an economics and moral viewpoint software piracy requires to be prevented and policies need to be enacted. References IEEE Computer Society. (2005). Software engineering code of ethics, version 3.0. Retrieved from http://www.itk.ilstu.edu/faculty/bllim/itk178/Software%20Engineering%20Code%20of%20Ethics,%20Version%203_0.htm Ohio Literacy Resource Centre. (2001). What is software piracy. Retrieved from http://literacy.kent.edu/Oasis/Pubs/techtalk6-1.pdf United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2010). Software management and piracy policy. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/irmpoli8/policies/CIO2104.1.pdf University of West Florida. (2012). Chapter 3: Application Software. Retrieved from http://uwf.edu/clemley/cgs1570w/notes/concepts-3.htm Read More