INDE 410: Engineering Ethics

2.4 Case study: Online data

Read the following case and then address the questions below. There is no need to submit
anything but you need to be ready to answer any of the questions in class on Wednesday. So it is
highly advised that you take written notes of your answers.

Cambridge Analytica was a consulting company that worked in data analytics and data mining,
using big data sets to predict trends and provide advice. A scandal erupted in 2018 when a
former employee of the firm revealed that they had been stealing people’s data from Facebook
without their consent, and using that data to help in the US elections. Read the full story here.

Source: https://www.wired.com/story/cambridge-analytica-facebook-privacy-awakening/

In general, the idea of “surveillance capitalism” is one that is becoming more and more of a
concern as you can listen to or read about here.

1. From a reciprocity standpoint, are the actions of Cambridge Analytica and Facebook
right?
2. Facebook are not the only company that use people’s data – Instagram, Google, and more
recently TikTok is in the news for these reasons. Would Kant say it is right to use and sell
people’s data to provide targeted ads and news?
3. How is this approach different from a utilitarian standpoint? Which one do you agree
with?
4. Would you be willing to give up your social media accounts because of this issue?
5. Do you think Facebook and other social media sites should do more in terms of
regulating and censoring the content that is posted? Discuss from a universality
perspective.
6. What are the norms in conflict when it comes to censoring data, and which do you think
is the prima facie and which is the self-evident norm?