Social, Ethical, and Legal Challenges in IT Industries Report

This report delves into the multifaceted social and professional issues prevalent in the IT industry. It explores ethical considerations, professional challenges, social consequences, and legal implications stemming from the use of information technology. The report highlights ethical issues such as the replacement of human power, intellectual property violations, hacking, and cyberbullying. It also examines professional challenges including continuous professional development, intellectual property law for software development, mishandling of IT resources, and data protection. Social issues, such as cybercrime, data breaches, and violations of netiquette, are also discussed. Furthermore, the report addresses legal issues concerning privacy, intellectual property rights, and data security liability. The dilemmas faced by IT practitioners are also outlined. This report provides a comprehensive overview of the complex landscape of the IT industry, offering valuable insights into the ethical, social, and legal dimensions of its operations and impact.

Running head: SOCIAL AND PROFESSIONAL ISSUES IN IT INDUSTRIES
Social and Professional Issues in IT Industries
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1SOCIAL AND PROFESSIONAL ISSUES IN IT INDUSTRIES
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Major Ethical, Professional, Social and Legal issues arising from the use of IT..................2
Dilemmas faced by IT Practitioners.......................................................................................7
Debates and Controversies pertinent to IT.............................................................................8
Social consequences through the use of examples.................................................................9
Internalised ethical standards developed overtime................................................................9
Conclusion................................................................................................................................10
References................................................................................................................................11

2SOCIAL AND PROFESSIONAL ISSUES IN IT INDUSTRIES
Introduction
In the latest times, the computer systems are being utilized in every way possible in
the human lives both in professional and personal grounds. The way that the technological
world has been shaping up and the way digital computing has been adopting the latest trends,
are making people adapt to the computer systems to use them in every aspect of their lives at
any possible instant. The utility of computer systems and the technological advancements are
meant to make the lives of people much easier than they are right now (Bench-Capon 2015).
The individual users as well as the organizations understand that these advancements are
looking forward to make the human lives much easier than it is in the current times. It has
been found that the digital world has provided so many benefits to the human lives that
computers and digital communicating devices are used in every aspect of human lives
nowadays. However, while trying to solve the problems in human lives, both professional and
personal, there can be occurrences where the computer systems and their development have
created obligations in the human lives (Slavin and Schoech 2017). Studies suggest that it
occurs mostly due to the decision makings occurring during the development of the computer
systems and the way that the benefits of technology are used against the ethical conducts of
using the internet. Thus, the following report would find out the major issues in the utility of
IT benefits in the society and how these cause ethical implications in all the aspects arising
from the use of Information Technology.
Major Ethical, Professional, Social and Legal issues arising from the use of IT
There have been various issues that has been reported to form issues in various
aspects of human lives while the Information Technology is being used. The ethical,

3SOCIAL AND PROFESSIONAL ISSUES IN IT INDUSTRIES
professional, social and legal issues arising from the use of IT would be described in details
as below:
Ethical issues: Ethics is regarded as the way by which a person behaves or performs
his or her code of conduct according to a set standard. These standards are verified by the
organization that they have been working in accordance to the set standards by the
legalization of the specific countries in which the organization in set in. Other than the IT
professionals, the ethical issues can also occur for the individual users who are to follow the
ethical conduct while using the IT services as per the set ethical laws of the country
(Veruggio, Operto and Bekey 2016). Ethical conduct is also synonymous to the moral
conduct of a person that ensures how a person deals with a situation to function and how this
can be conducted in a way that feels right to do for a person. Other than the benefits that
Information Technology provides, there are various conducts of the IT professionals and
individual users in the use of IT that creates tremendous ethical obligations or issues. These
issues can be identified, and the major issues are listed as below:
 Ever since the technological implementation has occurred in the business
organizations, it has been found that the human power in the company gets
replaced at random (Schaefer et al. 2016). This is a major ethical issue where
the IT organization prefers spending over a machine and the technology more
than to spend on a salaried employee.
 Ethical law does not allow to violate the law of intellectual properties which
presents complications for the users when they do not provide credibility to
the original creators while deriving their work on their own (Gilbert and Doran
2018). Any work that is not original, but at the same time does not refer to the

4SOCIAL AND PROFESSIONAL ISSUES IN IT INDUSTRIES
original sources, can be regarded as an ethical issue in the use of IT for a
professional or individual user.
 Hacking is another identifies ethical issue that violates the ethical codes of
conducts at many levels. The way that technology has advanced has also made
the computer systems to be vulnerable to the malicious hackers who do not
understand the moral concept behind the atrocities they perform (Spiekermann
2015). From the theft of data, information and even identities, the idea of
hacking violates the ethical codes of conduct at many levels.
 Cyberbullying is also one of the ethical issues that is associated with the use of
Information Technology. The way by which a malicious cybercriminal barges
into the personal space of any other user and performs the activities of
bullying other through internet medium is morally incorrect at various levels
(Card 2018). This is taking undue advantage of the usage of IT.
Professional issues: Technology has the potential to reduce the daily workload that
the professional IT employees perform at any given normal day. This is why numerous
organizations have started to implement the utilities of computer systems within the
organization in order to reduce the workload for the employees. Not only this was the reason,
but it was also found that the reduction in the daily operations in the organization also results
in the reduction in the economic prospects which made the organizations adopt the systems.
It was not something that every professional was used to. This made the professionals to
attain the required skills and also to upgrade themselves regularly to keep up with the regular
advancement of the technology (Carter 2015). This was an additional implication for the
professionals to improve their acquired skills. The professional needs of the implementation
of the computer systems also require that there is a need for the establishment of the solid
ground that can house all the issues in the use of IT, which might also include the technical

5SOCIAL AND PROFESSIONAL ISSUES IN IT INDUSTRIES
changes, the laws regarding the usage of IT and also the changes required for the work
environment as well. The issues that are identified in the professional grounds during the use
of IT can be explained in details in follows:
 Continuous Professional Development or CPD: One of the primary issues
in the professional world is the continuous need for the IT organizations to
keep changing the business processes (Conte and Castelfranchi 2016). The IT
professionals are thus at a much larger problem to have to deal with a huge
issue of keeping up with the changing system by updating their skills and
knowledge with the ever changing professional prospects and the business
environment.
 Intellectual Property Law for Software Development: Software
Development is the zone of development that requires ideas behind the entire
developmental process. The process includes converting ideas into a software
program and this is why the ideas are found somewhat derived and some of
the ideas are original (Arditi et al. 2017). This always creates an issue when
the derived ideas do not provide credibility to the original ideas and the
original creators. This also falls under the Intellectual Property rights and
creates an issue when the law is not followed.
 Mishandling of the IT resources: There are legislative laws for the proper
use of the internet and the computer systems as well that needs to be addressed
by all the people in an organization, especially in an IT organization (Rudd
and Bernadowski 2015). This is something that the IT professionals needs to
take extensive care upon as the mismanagement or mishandling of the IT
resources can also cause issues regarding the use of IT.

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 Protection of data: In any IT organization, it is essentially required that the
data and information generated within an organization is to be treated as a
highest priority. This is because; the data concerning the organization can
comprise of the employee data and even confidential data about the consumers
and customers. It ensues a huge issue if the specified data is not treated as a
priority, it can also cause the failure of the reputation of an entire organization
if any malicious hacker gets hold of the information. Thus, mishandling of
data and its security can be a huge issue in any organization or even for an
individual user while the IT use.
Social issues: IT industry has transformed a lot since the time of its inception,
however, IT has transformed a lot since the industrial and the technological scenario keeps on
changing every now and then. With the transformation in the world scenario for business and
technology, there has been increased issues regarding the use of IT as well (Veruggio, Operto
and Bekey 2016). The cybercriminal activities have reported to be increasing at an
exponential level as well. This is also considered to be one of the major social issue in the
cyber world as well. The major identified social issues can thus be listed with description as
below:
 The opportunities in the technological world has opened up the space for the
cybercriminals to find sophisticated ways of barging into the private lives of
the users. The advancements have opened up spaces for them to intrude.
 Data is the most essential resource of an organization and the cybercriminals
target the data generated within an organization in case of an unauthorized
intrusion for various purposed causing social issues. These reasons can be for
extracting money from the ATMs, EFTs, cell phones by stealing data.

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 The issue of desktop publishing has made it easier a process so that the
hackers can perform forgeries as the technology becomes much more
advanced in this regard.
 The various advancements in the world of technology has made it easier for
the hackers to perform theft of software systems.
 Netiquette and online privacy laws are social issues that are often reported to
be violated given the latest advancements of the technological scenario.
Legal issues: There are also impending legal issues that are associated to the use of
IT in both professional fields and even for the individual users during the development of
computer systems and also at other instances (Mason 2017). The laws have become even
more stronger than it was regarding the use of the IT systems. Even then, the way that the IT
professionals, the hackers and the individual users make use of the computer systems
generates many legal implications which can be listed as follows:
 The laws regarding the protection of privacy for every individual are often
violated by the employers by checking the daily activities of the employees
(Nazareth and Choi 2015). This is violation of the privacy of an individual and
has legal and ethical implications as well.
 There is an easy flow of information enabled by the technological
advancements, however, this is followed by an issue from the legal and ethical
problems in the cyber world as not providing proper rights to the existing
original idea brings about legislative measures.
 Data gathering and security liability is also two aspects of the data security
that brings about legal implications of not followed as per the set standards.

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Dilemmas faced by IT Practitioners
The professional lives of the IT practitioners are plagued by the ethical dilemmas at
every step of their tenure within an organization and even out of it. The people associated
with development of a computer system face the most difficulty and dilemma. The amount of
ethical dilemma they face are related to the loyalty they have to the organization and the
clients they have to serve (Abbasi, Sarker and Chiang 2016). They are aware what security
threats or security attacks can cause an organization or an individual user by extorting out all
confidential information including transactional data and cause severe harm. They are also
aware how the instalment of a security system causes a lot of expense. The customers thus
opt out of a security system while consulting them about requirements, which is a situation of
dilemma for the IT professionals. They need to meet to clients’ requirements as well as make
them understand the need of security system as the organization is bound to provide proper
security to the customers they serve (Floridi and Taddeo 2016). Another ethical issue for the
IT professional involve the promising of more than one person can deliver for the
manipulation of the data for obtaining higher activity levels.
Debates and Controversies pertinent to IT
There have been various debates and controversies related to the IT malfunctions and
one of the issues can be identified as the data breach in the organization of Equifax. Equifax
was once a hugely reputed organization that served the customers by managing their finances
and provided the credit card information and suggested them the proper way of investment
(Gressin 2017). However, the organization never accepted the need of a proper security
system within the organization that resulted into the breaching of data of about millions of the
customers including their confidential data about their addresses and contact information.
This controversy once again portrays how organizations underestimate the utility of security

9SOCIAL AND PROFESSIONAL ISSUES IN IT INDUSTRIES
systems to cause problems in the entire organizations, even jeopardizing the important and
confidential data of the customers as well.
Social consequences through the use of examples
Information Technology has such a huge impact that it has the potential even
affecting the social lives of people (Burke 2017). A small example can explain the matter
more. Facebook, the social media website has a huge influence in the social lives of people.
At some point of time, the application started extracting data from over 50 million Facebook
users which helped the Trump campaign know all about the voters in USA better than any
campaign has ever gathered knowledge on their voters (Solove and Citron 2017). This glitch
helped in putting out messages, news and images through Facebook to put an individual user
over the voter base for Mr. Donald Trump. This created a ruckus as this can be counted as the
violation of a privacy law. Facebook had no right to share or influence voters over choosing
their candidate.
Internalised ethical standards developed overtime
The internalised ethical standards that can be developed over time can be delivered as
below:
 While developing a computer system, the IT professionals must keep in mind
about the moral values and the ethical considerations about the development
process before displaying their abilities as an IT professional (Oinas-
Kukkonen and Harjumaa 2018).
 They should always make their customer be aware of the systems that are
about to be delivered to them with detailed description about the capabilities
and inabilities of the developed system.

10SOCIAL AND PROFESSIONAL ISSUES IN IT INDUSTRIES
 The IT professionals should make sure that the developed system utilized the
internet in the most ethical way possible and in no way the activities of an
individual should be able to be monitored by the system without their
knowledge.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it can lastly be said that the ever changing world of Information
Technology has shaped up the lives of individual human beings as well as the way in which
organizations used to function in the previous times. The way that people carry out their daily
activities now and the way by which the organizations carry out their day to day operational
activities are very different from the previous times. The credit can be given to the way
Information Technology has shaped up the lives of the human beings by providing them with
numerous advantages. However, as per the above study done, there are also various
associated issues along with the benefits that Information Technology provides. As per the
study done above, these issues have been identified as per the development of a computer
system from the perspective of both the IT professionals as well as the individual users. The
issues have been categorized into various aspects of Information Technology issues as the
ethical, professional, social and legal implications. The detailed report identifies how during
the development of a computer system is plagues with IT issues given the advanced
technologies being used nowadays. The report also identifies all the ethical and legal
dilemmas that an IT practitioner faces during their day to day activities, the controversies and
debated that has creeped up relevant to the IT world and the social consequences that
internally realized ethical standards that can be developed over a given course of time as well.

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References
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Toward an inclusive research agenda. Journal of the Association for Information
Systems, 17(2), p.I.
Arditi, C., Rège‐Walther, M., Durieux, P. and Burnand, B., 2017. Computer‐generated
reminders delivered on paper to healthcare professionals: effects on professional practice and
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Bench-Capon, T.J. ed., 2015. Knowledge-based systems and legal applications (Vol. 36).
Academic Press.
Burke, J.P., 2017. The Contemporary Presidency: The Trump Transition, Early Presidency,
and National Security Organization. Presidential Studies Quarterly, 47(3), pp.574-596.
Card, S.K., 2018. The psychology of human-computer interaction. CRC Press.
Carter, M., 2015. Me, my self, and I (T): conceptualizing information technology identity and
its implications. Mis Quarterly, 39(4).
Conte, R. and Castelfranchi, C., 2016. Cognitive and social action. Garland Science.
Floridi, L. and Taddeo, M., 2016. What is data ethics?.
Gilbert, N. and Doran, J., 2018. Simulating societies: the computer simulation of social
phenomena. Routledge.
Gressin, S., 2017. The equifax data breach: What to do. Federal Trade Commission, 8.