Choicepoint A Case of Privacy in the 21st Century Essay

Choicepoint: A Case of Privacy in the 21st Century Introduction Since its founding in 1776, America has been a country where the rights of individuals are one of the most important issues. As time has passed and the country progressed, this issue has evolved and taken different forms; the Civil War was fought over whether people of all colors had the right to freedom, in the early 20th century women finally demanded their long overdue right to vote (Wikipedia, 2003), and most recently, in the 1960’s, people of color had to assert their right to equal treatment under the laws of this nation. As the 21st century begins, the citizens of this nation are facing a new and unique challenge to the rights of the individual, specifically, a†¦show more content†¦Choicepoint also has an ethical duty to its customers who purchase the data as well as individuals on whom the data is gathered to keep data accurate and updated. Most importantly, Choicepoint must be sure that employees follow proper procedures for making sure indivi duals and companies trying to purchase data are legitimate and intend to use the data for legitimate uses. b.) Citizen’s Ethical Issues: Citizens need to be very concerned about so much personal information being gathered in one place. Part of any person’s development through their life is learning from their mistakes so they will not repeat them in the future. However, if a person’s whole history of legal, credit, and driving mistakes are recorded and made available to anyone willing to pay, it can be impossible for someone to escape the mistakes of their past. Citizens should also be concerned about their personal information falling into the hands of identity thieves. When a company like Choicepoint has all their data, individuals have no control over who gets their hands on the data and must rely solely on Choicepoint’s discretion to keep the data in legitimate hands, which it has shown it can not be trusted to do through numerous security breaches (Otto, Anton, Baumer, 2007). Individuals also need to be concerned about Choicepoint supplyingShow Mor eRelatedChoicepoint Case Analysys1748 Words   |  7 PagesChoicepoint: A Case of Privacy in the 21st Century Introduction Since its founding in 1776, America has been a country where the rights of individuals are one of the most important issues. As time has passed and the country progressed, this issue has evolved and taken different forms; the Civil War was fought over whether people of all colors had the right to freedom, in the early 20th century women finally demanded their long overdue right to vote (Wikipedia, 2003), and most recently, in