ETHICAL AND MORAL ISSUES IN E-COMMERCE

Ethical issues in E- commerce

INTRODUCTION:

At the early stages of the emergence of E-commerce , the

internet only became the platform to search information
and to communicate with each other.
However above all the negative side of the E-commerce
cannot be ignored i.e., the emergence of the ethical
issues. It involves the responsible parties who always give
threats to both consumers and business organizations.
Ethical issues in E-commerce:


It occurs when an attacker sets up a fake website

which almost totally same with the original website in
order to lure consumers to give their credit card number
and other personal information.


Cyber squatting is an activity in which a person or a firm register
or uses the existing domain name that belongs to a well-known
organization for the purpose of infringing its trademarks to obtain the
payment from original trademark owner.
 :
This issue is related to the consumer. The Privacy Invasion occurs
when the personal details belonging to the customer is provided to
the unauthorized parties.

 :

Online Piracy can be defined as an unauthorized

copyright of an electronic Intellectual Property. This
ethical issue occurs when an internet user uses the
hardware and software technology in an illicit manner .

E-mail spamming involves using the e-mails to send or broadcast

the advertisement over the internet. The individual who spam their
e-mail are usually called the spammer.
 when visited a website, the website system retains some trails of
the users that can be referred later, these trails are normally called
ad logs. These logs contain all the records of the users.

PREVENTIVE MEASURES TO CONTROL THE ETHICAL ISSUES IN

E-COMMERCE:

Certain preventive measures must be taken in E-commerce in order

to control or prevent certain ethical issues which often creates some
sort of threats and frauds.


E-commerce security depends very much on the Ecommerce

platform you choose. Even the package you choose affects the
performance of your website.
The platform and the package you subscribe matters for the
security of your E-commerce website.


Avoid storing certain sensitive information like credit card
number, bank account details. By not storing information, you are
in-fact protecting yourself and your website from the threats. So
do not store any kind of details and keep yourself in the secure
zone.
 They are the laws that protect Intellectual Property which
cannot be used freely. The distribution rights are with the copyright
holders.


They are several hosts that take automatic back-up at fixed
intervals. You need to go for a host that does this. Because the back-
ups are the life-savers. When you are in a situation of losing
information or because of some virus intervention , it helps to keep
your information safe.


Patching up your system as soon as a new version is released

helps in every way. It may come up with better features or may
come up with better security features. Updates are targeted with
the betterment of the software systems. So there is no harm in
updating.
 Moral issues in e -commerce
Moral issues are those actions which have the potential to
help or harm others or ourselves.

Seven key legal issues in the e-commerce

1. Domain name
2. Website
3. Rights of Intellectual Property
4. Terms and conditions, required information
5. Privacy and security
6. Online deals
7. Return policy
 Identity
issues

Higher Widespread use of Greater difficulty of

Fraud incidences of fictitious identities in
online transactions
authenticating the other
transacting party
Identity theft

• These are few of the real life issues we are facing currently concerning identity.

• With the increase in sensitivity and value of the transaction, the availability and
reliability of accurate information about the identity of the remote party in order
to make a trust-based decision increases as well.
Other moral issues of e -commerce
1)Incorporation Problem
If you are a company operated merely via a website, not
being incorporated is a crucial problem. Any purchase and
selling activity related to your products will be considered
illegal and you can’t claim your right in case of any fraud and
corruption. Without incorporation, your business has no
shelter.
Trademark security problem
Not getting your trademark protected is one of the main legal issues in the field
of e-commerce. Since trademark is your company’s logo and symbol, the
representation of your business all over the web, it must be protected. If you
don’t secure it, it won’t take long before you’ll realize your trademark is being
infringed upon. This is very common legal issue and can become a deadly threat
to your e-business.

With the hackers on loose and cybercrime so common, trademark infringement

of your business or by your business can be a serious legal matter and may
hinder your business’s progress.
Copyright Protection Issue
While publishing content for your e-commerce website, using content of
any other company can be a severe legal problem. This might mark an
end to your e-business. There are many sites online which are royalty
free and allow you to access their content and images. You may use
those sites for creating web content for your business site.Even if you
unintentionally used copyrighted content, the other party can easily sue
your business.

Transaction Issues

If your business fails to provide clear and complete description of

the product, cost and purchase details, information about delivery
i.e. when the customer will receive products and other
information related to exchange and refunds, the ACL(Australian
Consumer Law) can impose penalties on your business.
Client Privacy

Internet businesses have a legal obligation to protect the private

information of their customers.

 names and phone numbers associated with email addresses.

 Many e-business activities also involve transactions.

 customer banking or credit card information also ends up stored

online.

 Legally, it is up to the e-business to store and protect or dispose of

this sensitive data.

 The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act,

Advertising Online

Several online marketing issues spring from the inherent

anonymity of the Internet. It is often difficult to know the real
identity of an e-business owner. A few online businesses take
advantage of this in unethical or illegal ways.

Some e-business track the online activity of their customers so

that they can show advertisements based on the customer’s
behavior. Behavioral advertising is not illegal or legal.
Copyright Infringements
Due to the Internet’s free flow of information, plagiarism and
copyright infringement is a continual problem. The Digital
Millennium Copyright Act addresses plagiarism and
copyright infringement in the specific context of the Internet
and e-business.

Under this law, it is illegal to use online technology to copy

and distribute legally copyrighted material, such as
photography, articles or books, music or videos.
Net Neutrality
Net neutrality is the hotly debated idea that Internet users
should have equal access to all websites. Most computers
retrieve websites at the same speed, depending on the user's
Internet account settings or service, no matter if the site is a
multibillion-dollar company or a neighbor’s blog.

But some Internet providers have the capability to deliver

different websites at different speeds. This is an issue
because some websites could pay providers to deliver their
content at faster speeds, while smaller business with less
capital might not be able to afford the faster processing, and
the Internet would lose its free-access-for-all feel.

The Federal Communications Commission currently supports

net neutrality and bans providers from participating in any
program that offers extra pay for higher speed access to any
websites.
MORAL ISSUES

• Civil liberties groups try to protect privacy, free

expression, access to online information

• Civil liberties groups include those trying to

protect the history of minorties and the storage
of your personal data

• some companies ‘own’ the software on your

computer and often force you into expensive
upgrades
– Access to personal information made available
through search engines, what web sites have you
visited.

– Online stores target adverts based on browsing habits

to encourage you to spend.

– Windows XP / MS Office designed to send and store

personal data on your computer.

– Some personal information kept may be accessible to

stalkers etc; child safety issue too.
 Data protection
 DPA (1984) grew out of public concern over personal privacy
during rapidly developing computer technology
• Individual rights are protected
• Information needs to be handled correctly

• People who use data on individuals need to be open and follow set
practices

Principle of data protection

• Fairly and lawfully processed
• Processed for limited purposes
• Adequate, relevant and not excessive
• Accurate
• Not kept longer than necessary
• Processed in accordance with subject’s rights
• Secure
• Not transferred to countries without protection
EXAMPLES USED TO ILLUSTRATE - DPA

• Cookies
• CRB – Computer Records Bureau
• Collection of IP addresses
• Identity theft
• Stolen credit/debit card data -swiping
• E-mail surveillance – reading your e-mails
References:
 HTTPS://WWW.ASSIGNMENTCLUB.CO.UK/BLOG/999-ETHICAL-ISSUES-IN-E-COMMERCE
 HTTPS://KNOWING-I-TECH.BLOGSPOT.COM/2011/09/ETHIC AL-ISSUES-IN-E-COMMERCE
 https://www.eurologo.org/common-legal-issues-faced-by-e-commerce-businesses/
 https://1legal.net/en/blog-read13-seven-key-legal-issues-in-the-e-commerce

 https://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/cefact/cf_forums/2018_China/eCommerce_Bio-
PPT/PPT_10_Khan.pdf