E-Commerce Report: Ethical, Legal, IT Governance Framework Analysis

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Added on 2023/01/19

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This report delves into the multifaceted world of e-commerce, examining the ethical and legal challenges that arise in the digital marketplace. It begins with an introduction to e-commerce, highlighting the shift from traditional commerce and the emergence of new problems. The report then explores critical issues such as legal versus ethical challenges, privacy concerns, and the handling of personal information in online businesses. It underscores the ethical motives for protecting personal information and the role of IT governance frameworks, specifically the COBIT framework, in streamlining services and mitigating risks. The report emphasizes the importance of balancing business growth with ethical practices and the need for comprehensive strategies to address the evolving landscape of e-commerce. It highlights the importance of understanding the interplay between law, ethics, and technology to ensure responsible and sustainable business operations in the digital age, providing a framework for understanding the complexities of e-commerce and its impact on individuals and society.

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e-commerce
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The Name of the Class (Course)
Professor (Tutor)
The Name of the School (University)
The City and State where it is located
The Date

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Table of Contents
Executive Summary 1
Introduction 2
Legal vs Ethical challenges 3
Privacy challenges 4
Personal information and online business 5
Ethical motives for guarding personal information 6
IT governance framework……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
COBIT Basics…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
The COBIT structure is founded on these 5 guiding philosophies………………………………………………………..
Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

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Executive Summary
The world is changing at a rapid speed so as the needs of people. The modern technology
has fuelled the transformation and blown it out of proportion. The business are migrating to
digital platform in order to reach more customers who have adopted new trends of shopping. The
business who have refused to follow the trend are lagging behind in terms of profits and a good
number of them have closed down. The transformation has come with a new challenges which
have hindered the growth of many businesses on this new platform, this has prompted a good
number of experts to come up with new ideas in order to curb the new problems.
A major strategy which has been used a good number of companies to streamline their
services is known as IT governance, it is a framework which defines the process of work and
identify hindrances which may create problem and help to avoid them in good time.
Introduction

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E-commerce can be defined as a type of business which uses the internet platform has
supplanted the old-fashioned physical commerce dealings. The development of international e-
commerce has been taking place without a proper structure to handle the ethical as well as the
legal which comes up from the usage of the internet to carry out business. Administrations
around the globe should shield customers and various internet operators from immoral business
activities which he internet platform has triggered. Similarly crucial is the need to defend
property owners of online-related intellectual goods from breach of their constitutional rights on
ownership of this type of assets.
In the collected works from authors such as Sweet & Maxwell, (2012 )on the issue of
privacy, claims that there are numerous opposing versions of the value and nature of privacy .
On one end reductionist versions claim that privacy lay claims other values in addition to other
vital issues especially from an ethical viewpoint. Suggestions that have been defended alongside
these lines refer to security, property rights, friendship, autonomy or friendly, liberty, dignity,
democracy or utility as well as economic value (Sweet & Maxwell, 2012 )On the other hand
reductionist explanations claims that that the significance of privacy ought to be clarified and its
sense elucidated. The opposing opinion claims that the issue of privacy is valued and
significance are not derived from other different considerations . Opinions which interpret
privacy as well as the personal domain of life an important part of a human right can be a good
example of the non-reductionist notion.

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Legal versus. Ethical challenges
Legal matters are the issues associated with the law, while the ethical challenges, on the other
hand, relate to right or wrong. Additionally, illegal deeds are considered as breaking of the law,
whereas unethical actions are not certainly illegal. The main ethical and legal matters
challenging electronic business today include: infringement of rights on intellectual assets, user
privacy, computer crimes taxation, and customer protection.
Privacy challenges
Privacy issues in e-commerce includes the informational privacy, which is, right of firms,
individuals, and groups to agree on the level to which companies can distribute data about their
customers. By tradition, the privacy claim has never been total and the community’s claim to
data has continuously surpassed persons’ freedom of privacy. The authorities imposes the
community’s freedom to know besides it has the command of the individuals to perform such
powers. Therefore, government breach on person’s privacy is in some cases considered as
acceptable so long as the breach is genuine and performed in the general public interest besides
not for sake of groups or individuals in the administration. Private companies, though, are the
key abusers of personal’ right to confidentiality in the online business since they get the data
about the customers who log onto their sites. The client could have delivered such data freely
since they have trust in the company they are transacting with, is ethical not to provide customers
data to other parties. This dependence can arise from customers’ assumption or privacy
arrangements which majority e-commerce business place on their sites. Irrespective of the
foundation of conviction, it has appeared that numerous online businesses share data about their
customers with other people for economic or goodwill purposes, therefore breaching persons’

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right to privacy. Owing to the fast development and the globalization of online business there is
lack of all-inclusive decrees to handle informational privacy amongst other problems. Such
progresses are, conversely, very likely to happen when all investors including companies,
governments, customers, etc. adopt internet machinery to replace the traditional commercial
processes. The adoption of internet technology can however be streamlined and controlled
through good governance of internet which falls out a proper framework which ensures that there
is not challenges in the business process.
Personal Information and online business
A research performed by Gupta,et al,( 2017) on personal data privacy defines privacy
data as information which is connected or may be connected to individual people. This may
include sexual preference, date of birth, religion, and whereabouts as well as their IP address of
PC. Personal information may be compared with information that is reflected sensitive, vital for
different reasons, which may include financial data, secret recipes, or the military intelligence.
Information which is used to protect other data, such as device passwords, are not considered as
important here (Gupta,et al, 2017).
Gupta, et al,( 2017). Further states that Private information is well-defined in law as records
which can be connected with a ordinary individual. There are 2 methods through which this
association may be made; non-referential mode and the referential mode.
Ethical motives for guarding personal information
The reasons why personal data may vary types. The data can be distinguished according to
their urgency and its importance to the government.

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(i) Prevention of destruction: Unlimited access by other people to one's secret code, features, as
well as location may fall in a wrong hand used to damage the information matter in a many
different of manner( Menon ,2010)..
Informational inequality: Private information have become possessions. Persons are regularly
not in a position to negotiate agreements about the usage of their information in addition they do
not have ways of checking whether associates respect the rules of the agreement. Information
protection laws, guideline besides their governance goal at building fair environments for
drafting contracts about individual information transmission, exchange and giving information
matters with the checks and balances, assurances for redress( Menon ,2010).
The informational discrimination: Individual data given in one context or sphere (for instance,
healthcare) can alter its meaning when utilized in another context or sphere (such as commercial
contacts) and may result in injustice and difficulties for the individual (Gupta,et al, 2017).
Law, guideline, and indirect power over access to information.
Information security laws are enacted in every country across the world. The basic ethical
value concerning these regulation is the requirement of informed assent for processing by this
data owner. Additionally, handling of private information needs its goal be detailed, its usage be
restricted, persons be informed and given room to correct mistakes, and the holder of the
information be responsible for omitting vital sources( Menon ,2010).
Since it’s challenging to guarantee agreement of all forms of information processing in
every area as well as uses with the rules and regulations in customary means, so-called privacy -
improving machineries as well as identity management structures are anticipated to substitute
human error in numerous areas (Solove, Paul ,2017). The problems with regard to secrecy in the

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21st century is to assure that information technology is built in such manner in which it
incorporates privacy needs in architecture, software, as well as work procedures in a way which
makes secrecy desecrations unlikely to occur.
The critical feature of the global online business information technology (IT) governance is
guaranteeing that it is incorporated , it produces economic feasibility of a business. Poorly
thought through drives will lead to poor IT governance, main purpose is to enhance IT
governance besides business effectiveness and efficiency. The normative framework for e-
commerce IT governance in the current work is formed on study evidence from information
systems development as well as organization research (Brkan,2017). It recommends fundamental
re-directions in the e-commerce IT governance philosophy and it relates to businesses which try
to incorporate Internet, Intranet as well as the Web technologies in their commercial practices in
form of an e-commerce model. These integration is known as the combination of Information
technology and business to create e-commerce. The framework clarifies and expounds e-
commerce plans for coping with developing organizations and planned features of information
technology. The basic evidence of the planned outline is that business, particularly virtual
business, is both emergent and planned, deviating from the central principle of dominant control
in Information technology governance.
The information technology (IT) governance usually deals with the design as well as
implementation of effective business through building flexible Information technology in
addition to information systems (IS) processes and structures . Information technology
governance in the e-business setting has to accommodate the intensive rivalry, cultural diversity,

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and numerous changeable economic environments (Smith ,2017). The static framework of
information technology governance and business cannot sufficiently address these matters. How
e-commerce information technology governance may be carried out is addressed in the current
study on the foundation of this frame of evidence (Sweet & Maxwell, 2012 ).
Information technology governance can be defined as "the organizational ability to guide
the preparation and execution of information technology plan and guide to suitable course with
the aim of attaining competitive edge for the company.". The main purpose of information
technology governance is to add to the commercial activity through bring lower prices, pleased
clienteles and improved quality goods or service offered by a business (Jones, 2013). The
governance accepts answerability, making development the networks of answerability a vital
element of information technology governance, particularly accounting for profit on venture.
Various challenges need to be tackled through the information technology function: rapid
business, weak planning, and environmental change, and management involvement are some.
The developing process of information technology governance discloses that supervisors
must known that they are not all-powerful or weak to bring change. Rather, the managers are in
fractional control of developing processes which lead to new organizational framework. They
must to consider the significance of online business management, ethics, cultural diversity and
advanced production and information technologies, as the limitations between internet and
customer plan continue to merge. The current paper some significant re-directions in e-
commerce information technology governance plan thinking and suggests an outline for global e-

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commerce information technology governance as well as organizational framework as both a
planned and an up-and-coming process.
There is a big dissimilarity between information technology governance and the e-
commerce governance. The emphasis of information technology governance is to seek efficient
and successful methods of using information technology in the business. It seeks optimal
solutions. Global e-commerce governance is majorly concerned with managing and facilitating
the business practices and relationships among partners, suppliers and clienteles over the digital
systems, as well as ensuring efficiency and effectiveness. This inconsistency reinforces the
necessity for vital re-directions. The main reason for defining re-directions as vital is that
dissimilar from earlier digital technology, the internet technologies are fluid and seek to provide
for situated, contextual as well as semantic real-time information administration
(Wagner ,2012). ..
It is not sufficient for companies to have information technology structures and believe them
to bring strategic significance to the firm. Instead, there is urgency for the organization to have a
proper mechanism which will control, screen, and oversee the value formation capacity of
information technology structures. This governance element of information technology systems
handles the risk management and performance of those information technology systems in a way
that would generate value and profit for the business and guarantee that the planned arrangement
of the information technology and company purposes is on the right path. Therefore,
information technology governance pertains to identification, formation, and connecting of the

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instruments of the information technology systems to both control threats and further ensure that
their performance is in line with the identified objectives.
The necessity for information technology governance has been identified as important
because the interests of the organization and those managing the information technology systems
may be at odds this means that they can be in conflict with each other. Therefore, information
technology governance is desirable to guarantee that the information technology systems are
performing their allocated responsibility and that purposes of the chief executive and CIO are
similar. Certainly, it may be assumed that information technology governance comprises of all
the main shareholders in the business beginning with the policymaking management followed by
the panels, including the workforce, clienteles, and finishing with the investors and regulators.
There are numerous descriptions of the information technology governance, however for the aim
of this paper, the meaning that is next to our debate is that information technology governance is
the arrangement of organizational structures, leadership and processes to realize and ma the
maintain organizational purposes through the application of information technology.
Additionally, information governance is similarly well-defined as governance of information
system in a way which would be controlled and directed contains of assessment and observing
the strategies for the information technology structures so that they may be aligned with the
goals of the business.
Apart from this, there also needs to be declared that commercial governance and information
technology governance need not be observed in isolation however need act and travel in tandem.
Without a doubt, several specialists claims that the information technology governance is a
subsection of a corporate governance, which both must be put in an equally dependent way.
Openly speaking, the purposes of information technology governance may be rounded over as

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guaranteeing the formation of value through the application of information ; overseeing of the
management’s work; moderation of the threats connected with the usage of information
technology; and the common inclination to have oversight over the information systems in order
for the configuration to occur the organizational objectives and the objectives of the information
technology systems.
The terminology information technology governance, IT controls and IT management, are
regularly applied interchangeably however this is misleading since every term refers to diverse
features of organizational imperatives (Murray ,2016). The primary objective of information
technology governance is the arranging of the information technology resources accessible to
the stewardship and business of the Information technology systems in a manner that would
create value for the organization. On the other hand, IT management is all about the plans to
operationalize the use of IT resources, directing and controlling the use of such resources, and
organizing the management of such resources. Correspondingly, information technology controls
are apparatuses put in place to make sure that the business information technology systems are
being watched and trailed. Consequently, as we can notice, there is a big dissimilarity in the
above mentioned words.
The best way to think about IT governance is to ask the question as to what can be achieved
through the use of information technology and how well the current IT capitals can be leveraged
for the profit of the business. In other words, information governance can be regarded as a
framework which encompasses the different words aforementioned. Furthermore, information
technology governance is itself a structure in the general superstructure of business governance
as well as cooperate governance. This means that IT governance is effective only when there is a
vertical and horizontal alignment between these various elements of the organizational structure.

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IT governance framework
There are numerous IT governance frameworks that are used by organizations worldwide
and the most widely used framework is COBIT(Control Objectives for Information and Related
Technology). The outline suggests a series of 37 various IT procedures and the methods of
handling these procedures via identifying the outputs and inputs alongside with main process
activities, process objectives, performance measures, to make sure that the information
technology systems are certainly bringing business value.
COBIT Basics
COBIT is a methodology that aims at connecting business goals to IT goals – assigning
objectives and duties to both business and IT leaders. It provides the resources to build, monitor,
and improve its implementation, while helping to reduce costs, establish and maintain privacy
standards, and give structure and oversight to general IT processes within the company.
These resources include:
Frameworks – which aid to attain a harmony between profits and risks
Control Objectives
Process Descriptions
Maturity Models
Management Guidelines

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The COBIT structure is founded on these 5 guiding philosophies:
Meeting Shareholder Needs (value formation for business shareholders)
Covering the business End-to-end (handling of all business processes and functions
which relate to the data movement and the technologies)

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The key motives why business establishments apply the information technology outlines are to
safeguard that they apply the information technology structures in an effective and efficient way.
Additionally, risk mitigation and performance management are key business imperatives, which
the business need to follow so that there are no shocks for its procedures and that the commerce
goals are being accomplished.
Conclusion
Information technology governance has arose as a main imperative for businesses as
throughout the 90 era there were numerous corporate disasters and failures arising from poor
business governance and lack of configuration between business purposes and the information
technology purposes. To close this study, it would be relevant to identify that to evade such
cases of corporate failure, businesses would be well informed to realize efficient and effective
information technology governance alongside with reliable and responsible business

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governance. On the other hand the speedy development of e-commerce has existing a swarm of
ethical and legal problems majority of which are linked with intellectual property and
informational privacy rights. The arrival of internet has made it conceivable for business
establishments to seize private data about internet customers who are unaware of this activity by
firms. It also made it possible to steal intellectual property without legal penalties easily. The
solutions to these problems lie in passing and enforcing national and international legislations to
safeguard persons’ claim to informational privacy and intellectual property as well as
incorporating information technology governance to balance the issue of law and ethics on the
internet.
References
Andrew Murray (2016). Information Technology Law: The Law and Society.
Gupta, Manish, Sharman, Raj, Walp,& John(2017). Information Technology Risk Management
and Compliance in Modern.Oxford Press
Daniel J. Solove, Paul (2017).Information Privacy Law – Constitutional
DJ Solove ( 2011).Nothing to hide: The false tradeoff between privacy and security
E Chin, AP Felt, V Sekar, D Wagner (2012) . Measuring user confidence in smartphone security
and privacy,Usable privacy and security.
Jeff Smith (2017). Managing Privacy: Information Technology and Corporate America. UNC
Press Books
Jones, K. (2013). Search engine optimization. Indianapolis (IN): Wiley.

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Juon, C., Greiling, D. and Buerkle, C. (2015). Internet marketing start-to-finish. Indianapolis,
Ind.: Que.
Maja Brkan(2017). Courts, Privacy and Data Protection in the Digital EnvironmentEdward Elgar
Publishing
R. V. G. Menon (2010).Technology and Society.Pearson Education India, 2010 ISBN
8131756416, 9788131756416
Sweet & Maxwell, (2012 )Data Protection & Privacy: Jurisdictional Comparisons. Data
protection - 671 pages