Ethical Tracking Essay

Total Length: 906 words ( 3 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 3

Page 1 of 3

Who is Watching the Watchers Privacy in the Early 21st Century

Notwithstanding the Fourth Amendment constitutional expectations to privacy that American consumers enjoy, the Internet of Things, the proliferation of closed-circuit cameras and GPS tracking systems has made true individual privacy is a thing of the distant past. Nevertheless, consumers have a legitimate right to expect that their right to privacy is respected and protected to the maximum extent possible and that businesses of all sizes and types conform to all relevant governmental regulatory and compliance requirements. To determine the current state of affairs, the purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the relevant literature concerning the ethical considerations involved the use of tracking technologies to determine whether privacy policies or legislation should only apply to sensitive, personal information and to determine with some precision just who “watches the watchers.” Finally, a summary of the research and important findings concerning the need to enhanced consumer privacy protections are presented in the paper’s conclusion.

Review and Discussion

One of the more challenging aspects of increasing intrusions into personal privacy is the potential for undetected abuse by public and private sector organizations. Indeed, while many countries have laws in place that are designed to prevent unauthorized violations of privacy protections, innovations in information technologies have made it increasingly difficult to enforce these protections. For instance, according to Apte et al. (2019), “The ability to use GPS to trace the movements of people raises important ethical issues.
Geospatial technology for personal location tracking presents a global concern and there is geo-location privacy legislation in place in some countries which prohibits use of this technology…

[…… parts of this paper are missing, click here to view the entire document ]

…/>
Conclusion

The research was unsettling with respect to the growing threats to privacy that are directly attributable to the increased use of any technologies that can collect data without the knowledge of the targeted individuals. Despite laws that are intended to protect American consumers form unwarranted intrusions into their constitutionally guaranteed privacy, the stakes and potential for abuse are very high indeed. These trends underscore the fundamental issue as to whether anyone can really have a legitimate expectation of privacy when there are literally Big Brother-type data collection devices everywhere – including in American consumers’ homes, vehicles, businesses and even places of worship. Certainly, governments have a legitimate right and obligation to protect people from the spread of pandemics, but they also have a concomitant responsibility to ensure that the processes that are used are not violative of….....

Show More ⇣


     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Ethical Tracking" (2020, December 27) Retrieved June 4, 2026, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/ethical-tracking-2175931

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Ethical Tracking" 27 December 2020. Web.4 June. 2026. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/ethical-tracking-2175931>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Ethical Tracking", 27 December 2020, Accessed.4 June. 2026,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/ethical-tracking-2175931