Information Collection and Retention of Sensitive Information on Users - Research Paper Example

Information Collection and Retention of Sensitive Information on Users al Affiliation Outline 2. Introduction Background information on the extent to which companies collect and retain sensitive information on users 3. Information That Companies Hold and the Reasons for Holding Them Discussion of various sensitive information on users that companies collect and retain, such as age, race, educational level, location, passion and interests, marital status, sex and gender among others. A discussion of why companies collect and retain such sensitive information 4. Ethical Issues Regarding Retention of Sensitive Information Belonging To Users Discussion of ethical issues surrounding collection and retention of sensitive information on users Application of consequentialism to the situation Application of deontological ethics to the situation 5. Conclusion Summary of the paper and its implications 6. References Abstract Data mining has been on the increase in the recent past. As the business environment increasingly becomes competitive, companies are looking for every little opportunity to enable them stay ahead of the park. Currently, most big companies are collecting and retaining personal data of their customers for organizational use. Although most companies keep the customers personal data for good reasons, such as understanding customer needs and preferences, there has been a growing concern among consumers who argue that it is unethical for companies to retain personal and private data of a consumer without the consent of a customer. This document will analyze the extent to which companies retain users sensitive information and the kind of information that companies hold and the reasons for holding such sensitive information. Information Collection and Retention of sensitive information on Users Introduction According to Martin (2014), data mining has been on the increase in the recent past. As the business environment increasingly becomes competitive, companies are looking for every little opportunity to enable them stay ahead of the park. Currently, most big companies are collecting and retaining personal data of their customers for organizational use. Experts say that the private data of most customers are currently being held by big companies. In fact, Martin (2014) notes that every time an individual surfs on the Internet and click on a website, use a mobile app, post something on social media or make a comment via an e-mail or call center, the information provided is retained by the companies for future use. Although most companies keep the customers personal data for good reasons, there has been a growing concern among consumers who note that it is unethical for companies to retain personal and private data of a consumer without the consent their consent. Additionally, consumers are concerned that keeping private data about a customer exposes a customer at risk because the data may be hacked, thereby causing harm to a customer. This document will analyze the extent to which companies retain users sensitive information and the kind of information that companies hold and the reasons for holding such sensitive information. Information That Companies Hold and the Reasons for Holding Them With the advancements in technology and the increased propagation and usage of the Internet, most big companies such as Google, Apple and Facebook are mining the data of consumers as a means of developing a marketing strategy that suits the behaviors of customers in the market (Gordon, 2013). Today, most companies are keen on retaining the sensitive information of consumers. In fact, IT experts say that with the advancements in technology and data mining, big companies know who their customers are, how they behave and where they live. This is because they track and keep the sensitive information of their customer on their data bank. Acxiom Corporation is a classical example of a company that has created more than 23,000 computer servers in Conway for purposes of collecting, collating and analyzing the sensitive information of consumers for the company. Google and Facebook have also been cited as being among big companies that retain consumers sensitive information for their personal use in marketing. The information that these companies retain about customers is wide and depends on the purpose for which the company intends to use the information. Firstly, age of the user is one of the most important information that most companies that mine the data of users would want to obtain (Singer, 2012). In this respect, whenever a user clicks a website or surf on the social media or uses a mobile app, the first information that companies normally look for is the age of the user. Age is important for most companies, particularly in segmenting the market. By collecting as many data about the age of the users of a certain service or product, companies can know the right age bracket that should form their primary target market. Segmenting a market according to age is beneficial for a company since it enable the company in question to develop better marketing strategies that suit consumers within the age group. Secondly, most companies today are interested in knowing the race of a user or a product or service. Today, the world has become a multicultural society (Furrier, 2012). As such, companies are interested in knowing how diverse, in terms of race, their market is to be able to develop effective marketing strategies that suit the different races that use the company products or services most. Google is a typical example of a company that retains the data regarding the races of its customers for purposes of understanding the composition of its market and the race where to focus much of its marketing strategies. Thirdly, companies are greatly interested in collecting information regarding the passion and interests of customers for purposes of understanding their customers better. Furrier (2012) argues that understanding customers needs, interests, and passion is critical to winning them over in a competitive market. This is because understanding customers passions and interest give companies an overview of the nature or services or products that might suit their needs. Once the needs of customers are understood, a company can them provide services or products that are customized to meet the needs of the consumers in the market. Accordingly, it is for this reason that most companies are interested in collecting data concerning the interests and passion of users. Fourthly, Gordon (2013) observes that most companies that data mine their customers sensitive information are much interested in knowing the education level of their customers. Accordingly, by knowing the education level of users of given products or service, companies can develop marketing strategies that suits the needs of this particular users. For instance, if after analyzing the data collected, a company finds that the majority of its users are highly educated or less educated, then the company can go ahead and devise a marketing strategy that suits the education level of this particular segment of the market. Companies are also interested in knowing the geographical location of users (Foege, 2013). With the advancement in technology and propagation of the Internet, users of a company product or service can be several miles away from where the company is situated. In fact, the user may be from a foreign country. Therefore, most companies tend to retain sensitive information of a user in order to be able to determine the exact geographical location of the user. This is important because it gives a company the opportunity to understand the customer better and how best to provide the customer with products and/or services. Additionally, companies that retain the sensitive information about users of their products or services are interested in knowing the buying habits of consumers (Singer, 2012). Understanding the buying habits of consumers is one of the most critical things that a company must pursue so as to be able to win customers in a competitive business environment. By understanding the buying habits of a customer through this sensitive information, a company can tailor its products or services in such a manner that meets the needs of the customer. Additionally, understanding the buying habits of customers help companies develop marketing strategies that fulfill the needs of the user. Other sensitive information that some companies that data mine are interested in for purposes of market segmentation include sex of a user, marital status, household health worries and weight among others. The practice of retaining sensitive information about users is not isolated to American companies alone. Rather, this is a practice that is adopted by most companies across the globe today. Currently, all users of the Internet and customers that provide their vital information to companies complain that companies are keeping these sensitive information, which puts them at risk of being hacked and their confidential information leaked to third parties. Recently, a hacker attacked Barclays Bank in the U.K. and stole vital information belonging to the customers of the company plus £1.3 million. Accordingly, this incidence showed that the concern regarding the practice of holding sensitive information of customers is not an American issue alone, but is a global problem that needs to be addressed. Ethical Issues Regarding Retention of Sensitive Information Belonging To Users Although it is lawful for a company to retain sensitive information belong to users of products and services, consumers are increasingly becoming concerned about this new practice that has become prevalent in most companies. The first main concern among users is that retaining sensitive information puts their data at risk of hacking, which might compromise their security. In fact, hacking incidences has become common in the present day digital world. Malicious people are increasingly using technology to hack into the companys data banks, where they still sensitive information belong to the companies and their companies for their personal use. For instance, more than 80 million customers of Anthem Inc. healthcare institution had their accounts hacked by external cyber attackers (Weise, 2015). Some of the information that were accessed by the hackers of the countrys second largest institution included names, birthdays, emails, Social Security, employment information and income data. Accordingly, the over 80 million customers whose accounts were accessed by hackers are worried that the hackers might use their sensitive information for illegal purposes. Apart from the security concerns, users also cite that it is unethical for companies to retain the sensitive information of users without consent. In this respect, users whose information is retained by companies argue that retention of sensitive information amounts to privacy violation, which is unethical. Ethics, in this case, refers to the capacity to differentiate between wrongness and rightness. Accordingly, there are quite a number of ethical theories that are applicable to retention of sensitive information of users. One such is the consequentialism. Consequentialism is an ethical principle, which holds that the wrongness or rightness of an action should be judged according to its resultant consequences (Portmore, 2011). In other words, the theory maintains that an action is only right when it results in better consequences. Otherwise, the action would be considered wrong and unethical. Accordingly, the practice of retaining user sensitive information would be considered unethical under consequentialism because such a practice has the danger of resulting in negative consequences on the part of the customer. This is because, whenever companies retain customer information, there is a danger of the sensitive information being leaked to third parties or the company account being hacked by malicious cyber attackers. Therefore, as much as companies might benefit from the retention of sensitive information of customers, care must be taken to ensure that no data or privacy is breached. Deontological ethics makes judgment regarding the morality of an activity based on whether or not it adheres to a set of rules as noted by Waller (2005). N other words, deontological ethics emphasizes adherence to duties or ethical principles. Indeed, according to Immanuel Kant, the motives of a party has greater bearing compared to the consequences of their actions (Kant, 1964). As Kant postulates, nothing can possibly be good without the qualification of a good will. In respect of the actions of companies to collect and retain vital private data, it is worth noting that deontological ethics questions the will that underlies such actions. If indeed companies are collecting and retaining the information with the view of serving the needs of customers or members of public better, then they are worthy of approval. However, if the collection of such information is meant to propagate discrimination or any other ill, then they go against ethical principles by deontological ethics standards. Conclusion Most big companies have adopted the practice of retaining the sensitive data belonging to their customers today. Some of the sensitive information that most companies retain are the age of the user, race, passion and interests, level of education, geographical area, and consumer buying habits. Other information includes sex of a user, marital status, household health worries and weight. Although most companies retain their customers’ sensitive information for good purposes, such as for further analysis mainly for marketing purposes, this practice is increasingly becoming a huge concern for customers who see the practice as unethical since it put the sensitive information of users at risk of hacking or leakage to their parties. However, regarding the ethical theories, the situation fits well under consequentialism that holds that the wrongness or rightness of an action is determined by its resultant consequences. Therefore, since retention result in negative consequences for customers than positive consequences, the situation would be considered unethical under consequentialism. However, with respect to deontological ethics, the collection and retention of sensitive information by companies is ethical for as long as the motives behind such actions are good. In respect of this, it may be stated that such actions are ethical for as long as they are aimed at improving customer experience or serving the customer better. Therefore, it is important for companies that retain the data of their users to ensure that the data are safely protected to avoid hacking or leakage to third parties. References Foege, A. (2013, June 7). 7 best privacy practices for companies managing customer data. Retrieved from http://data-informed.com/7-best-privacy-practices-for-companies-managing-customer-data/ Furrier, J. (2012, Feb. 17). Big data is big market & big business - $50 billion market by 2017. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/siliconangle/2012/02/29/big-data-is-creating-the-future-its-a-50-billion-market/ Gordon, J. (2013, July 22). Big data, analytics and the future of marketing and sales. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/mckinsey/2013/07/22/big-data-analytics-and-the-future-of-marketing-sales/ Kant, I. (1964). Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals. Harper and Row Publishers, Inc. Martin, E. R. (2014, March 27). The ethics of big data. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/oreillymedia/2012/06/21/the-ethics-of-big-data/ Portmore, D. W. (2011). Commonsense consequentialism: Wherein morality meets rationality. Oxford, NY: Oxford University Press. Singer, N. (2012, June 16). Mapping, and sharing, the consumer genome. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/17/technology/acxiom-the-quiet-giant-of-consumer-database-marketing.html?_r=0 Waller, B. N. (2005). Consider Ethics: Theory, Readings, and Contemporary Issues. New York: Pearson Longman. Weise, E. (2015, Feb. 5). Massive breach at health care company Anthem Inc. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/02/04/health-care-anthem-hacked/22900925/ Read More