There is great concern about ethical issues in regards to the increased use of surveillance technologies in the global community. Governments and companies gather way too much personal information and mostly do not require explicit permission. Such continuous surveillance violates the rights of privacy as it influences how people live and make decisions. It becomes more and more hard to strike the balance between personal freedom and security.
Discrimination and equality can also be enforced through surveillance technologies. Systems and algorithms that monitor habitually express the sentiments of their developers. Some communities could be unfairly targeted, profiled or limited by race, religion or social status. This casts great doubts on justice, equality and fair usage of technology in the society.
The other issue is the implication on the freedom of expression. Individuals might censor their online actions, sharing, or utterances because they are afraid they can be monitored. The effect of such monitoring is the discouragement of social participation, creativity and critical thinking. Feeling that they are watchful all the time means that people can hardly express their ideas freely any longer.
One of the ethical concerns is data security. Sensitive information is contained in the surveillance systems and can be hacked, abused, or even leaked. By getting unauthorized access, it can result in identity theft, blackmail or manipulation. To avoid malicious intent and the challenges that may cause the distrust of such technologies, it is critical to ensure the presence of powerful protection of the collected information.
Surveillance practices do not usually have transparency and accountability. A large sharing of many organizations fails to specify the data collection, data storage and financial uses on a demonstrative basis. Lack of control increases the chances of misuse of surveillance and so unethical methods continue and creates lack of trust in the institutions and technology by the people.
Conclusion
There are several ethical issues surrounding the development of surveillance technologies on a global scale. Erosion of privacy, discrimination, lack of freedom of expression, insecurity of data and lack of transparency are reasons that portray the standard required performance. To safeguard human rights, as well as to keep the publicity trusting, appropriate use of such systems is required.
