¶ … Privacy
Justin Ellsworth's parents should not have been given access to his e-mail account on their request alone, as it would have violated nearly every privacy act in existence at the time of the case, the Yahoo agreement terms with Justin, and set a dangerous precedence for invasion of digital assets of the deceased. Yahoo relented and only provided the e-mail account access on court order, which preserved the digital rights and privacy of its millions of customers using Yahoo mail and other online e-mail applications in the process (Leach 2005). Yahoo argued successfully that providing access without court order would have violated the Stored Communications Act (SCA), 18. U.S.C. § 2701. This has become an often-cited precedent by all other Internet e-mail providers who must retain the trust of their customers to stay in business. The case has a multifaceted ethical aspect to it, which is analyzed from a deontological and utilitarian standpoint below.
Analysis of E-mail Access from an Ethical Standpoint
Deontological reasoning is predicated on the findings of Kant (1981) who posited that moral laws take the form of categorical reasoning and imperatives including university, congeniality and community. Universality concentrates on the universal laws of nature, congeniality focused on treating persons as ends, never as mere means, and community where Kant believes the best ethical outcomes come from a decision maker putting themselves in the role of subject and sovereignty (Ralph, 1999). Using deontological ethics to evaluate the decision of whether to allow the Ellsworths to gain access to their deceased son's Yahoo e-mail account raises the ethical dilemma of defining a parents' right to know of their son's thoughts and emotions immediately before his untimely death. The ethical dilemma for Yahoo is however seen from a global standpoint, where the deontological conflict of needing to preserve the rights of e-mail customers to their privacy, even in death...
Email Privacy Times change and so do social institutions. When the laws protecting our privacy were originally drafted there was not even the notion of email. Such a concept was so futuristic as to be well beyond the most imaginative of the Founding Fathers. Today, however, emails have become a regular course of communication between members of society and, as such, they deserve attention. Do they fall within our expectation of
This research will fill in a gap that was discovered in the literature review. There have been many, even in an academic setting, that have made comments regarding the effects of email on the student environment. However, there have been no significant studies to substantiate these claims. This study will fill in the existing gap in research and will examine the actual importance of email to the academic setting. Chapter
This is why computer evidence -- such as the email itself -- cannot outweigh the underlying crime. What is being investigated is a threat against human life. While investigating this threatening email and Westfall (the main suspect), it is important for the investigator to heed the law; suspects still have all the legal rights and protections afforded them per the United States Constitution (Reyes & Brittson 2007). "Reading emails, intercepting
Essentially, by taking such a strong stance against breaking their own regulations, even in cases of death, Yahoo! was upholding utilitarian principles in order to benefit the community as a whole. Thus, the company was focused on upholding a commitment to privacy for all of its members. It was unfortunate that Justin Ellsworth lost his life in the line of battle, but that could not jeopardize the promise Yahoo!
Constraints to Email and Potential Solutions Humankind has been communicating over increasingly lengthy distances over the millennia, beginning with drums and smoke signals, to relay runners and mounted messengers, to the telegraph and telephone and then, during the 1990s, the Internet and email. All of these communication media have their limitations, though, including the most popular written communication method today: email. Indeed, many observers believe that email will eventually spell
This collection comprises health-care and social service employees such as visiting nurses, psychiatric evaluators, and probation workers; community employees such as gas and water utility workers, phone and cable TV employees, and letter carriers; retail workers; and taxi drivers (OSHA Fact Sheet, 2002). The best defense that companies can give is to institute a no tolerance rule in regards to workplace aggression against or by their workers. The company should
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