Ethics in ICT Apple v/s FBI

Question: Discuss about theEthics in ICT for Apple v/s FBI. Answer: Introduction Information and Communication Technology, popularly known as ICT is an integral part of the present day business. There are a number of different components present in the world of ICT that interact with each other on a daily basis to perform the operations that are demanded out of the applications. Due to the presence of these components, there are also a number of issues that appear in the case of ICT and ethical dilemma and issues are one of the prime categories of issues (Britz, 2016, p. 1). The report covers the popular case of Apple versus FBI and evaluates the same on the basis of two ethical theories. Case Background There was a case of shooting attack that took place in San Bernardino that took a toll of lives of fourteen people. It was later investigated by FBI that the attacker made use of iPhone and got hold of the same to retrieve further information regarding the attack. As per the decision produced by the federal judge, Apple was asked to assist FBI in unlocking the device. However, the IT giant did not agree to abide by the decision of the judge on the terms that the security features of the device will be put in danger. Even after multiple attempts and persuasion to Apple, the organization did not agree to help FBI with the phone captured by them. FBI then went on to take assistance from another third party that later succeeded in breaking down the security of the phone (Kharpal, 2016). Theory of Deontology - Case Evaluation There are a number of different theories of ethics that have been developed by the researchers. Theory of Deontology is one of the popular theories that judge an act on the basis of the rules and duties that govern the act. If the act and its processes adhere to the rules that are defined against it then the same is termed to be ethically correct and vice versa (Gaus, 2016, p. 6). There are two acts involved in the case being evaluated that is the act done by Apple and the one that is done by FBI. Apple decided to go against the decision of federal court and also did not assist in the national security. It is the duty of every citizen and organization to agree with the legal policies and decisions and the same is not followed by Apple. Thus, the act is evaluated to be incorrect on ethical grounds as per the theory of Deontology (Nill, 2016, p. 1). On the other hand, the primary duty of FBI is to make complete use of the evidences that it gets in reference with a particular case and it did the same after denial by Apple and went to a third party. FBI maintained its adherence towards the rules and duties and the act is thus evaluated as ethically correct. Theory of Virtue Ethics Case Evaluation Another theory that has been used to evaluate the case is the Virtue Ethics. This is the ethical theory that forms its decision on the basis of the virtue or the character of the party that is involved behind the execution of the attack. Happiness is considered as the prime goal of life for all the people in this world and an act that aids in attainment of happiness and care is considered to be correct on the basis of ethical principles of this theory (Bowden, 2016, p. 7). The two acts that is the act by Apple and the act by FBI are evaluated on the basis of the theory of Virtue ethics. FBI took the help of a third party so that it could retrieve maximum information from the phone that it acquired to understand the other parties that were involved in the attack and the associated information. It was done to make sure that the national security is maintained and strengthened. The act is therefore evaluated as ethically correct as per the theory of Virtue Ethics. Apple did not agree with the decision of the federal judge on the grounds that its assistance to FBI will endanger the security of the devices of other users that make use of the device as it would be possible by third parties to unlock their devices. The motive behind this was to ensure the security, happiness and care of the customers and thus, the act of Apple is also considered as ethically correct by this theory (Hursthouse, 2016). Conclusion The evaluation has been made on the basis of two ethical theories as the theory of Deontology and Virtue Ethics. The act that was done by FBI has been evaluated to be ethically correct by both of these theories and the principles that are associated with each. However, the act that was done by Apple has been evaluated to be ethically incorrect by the theory of Deontology and ethically correct by the theory of Virtue Ethics. The second theory forms its decision on the fact that the happiness and care of the customers was considered by Apple. However, the fact that the national security was compromised cannot be ignored as well. Hence, the act that was done by Apple is evaluated to be ethically incorrect. Also, the third party could finally break in to the security of the device and unlock the same also weakens the argument that was put forward by Apple. There could have been alternative measures taken by the organization such as unlocking of the device could have been done in the FBI by the representative of the Apple without the presence or monitoring of any agent. There are also upgrades being installed in the device to enhance the security which could have been adapted at that point of time as well to make sure that both the national security and the security of the device were not compromised. References Bowden, P. (2016). Virtue ethics, Aristotle and organisational behaviour. Retrieved 15 September 2016, from https://www.unisa.edu.au/Documents/EASS/HRI/GIG/bowden-virtue.pdf Britz, J. (2016). Technology as a Threat to Privacy:Ethical Challenges. Web.simmons.edu. Retrieved 15 September 2016, from https://web.simmons.edu/~chen/nit/NIT'96/96-025-Britz.html Gaus, G. (2016). What is Deontology?, Part One: Orthodox Views. Retrieved 15 September 2016, from https://www.gaus.biz/deontology1.pdf Hursthouse, R. (2016). Virtue Ethics and Human Nature. Retrieved 15 September 2016, from https://www.humesociety.org/hs/issues/v25n1-2/hursthouse/hursthouse-v25n1-2.pdf Kharpal, A. (2016). Apple vs FBI: All you need to know. CNBC. Retrieved 15 September 2016, from https://www.cnbc.com/2016/03/29/apple-vs-fbi-all-you-need-to-know.html Nill, M. (2016). Deontology. Retrieved 15 September 2016, from https://cw.routledge.com/ref/ethics/entries/deontology.pdf