gisethicalandlegalissues-santamonicacollege（6页）.docVIP

GIS:ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES Vicki Drake Earth Science Department Santa Monica College Ethical and Legal Issues in Electronic Information Systems GIS and Ethical Issues GIS are revolutionizing the use and spread of information and create ethical dilemmas Users of GIS (and other information systems) must face new responsibilities regarding the use of electronic information Information is a source of power and a key to prosperity to those with access Electronic systems can, and do, reach into all levels of government, workplace and private lives – such that new ethical and legal decisions are necessary to balance the needs and rights of all GIS and Ethical Issues In general, several essays on the nature and possibilities of ethical issues and networks have established a standard of conduct. Networks stretch across societies with different values and traditions – the computers forming the network allow users to do things they could not do before – and do it anonymously! Standards of acceptable behavior in a network includes simple standard of civility and common sense GIS and Ethical Issues One of the major issues in electronic networks is the question of access – who has it and what kinds of information will be available Countering the questions of rights of access are questions about privacy, as the amount of personal information available through electronic information is staggering – from medical histories to credit histories to marital status and so forth GIS and Ethical Issues Privacy and Electronic Networks The degree of control that people have over what kinds of personal information other people can find out (and distribute) has dropped with the advent of electronic databases and network communications Hackers and System operators alike have access to root directories and may be able to ‘look’ into private accounts (e-mail, for instance) – Hackers are illegal snoopers, while system operators are authorized, usually by a server) GIS and Ethical Issues Chal