Information-Age Ethics in Media Spotlight

Feb 23rd, 2009 • Posted in: News

Facebook users stage privacy protest; website accused of altering online ratings for merchants who buy ads; another law against selling violent video games to minors is struck down on appeal

NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES
Ethical issues relating to advancing communication technology were featured in several news stories last week. Among the coverage:

• The social-networking site Facebook stumbled into a hornet’s nest after a short-lived assertion by the company’s legal representative that the firm owned all the information on a Facebook account — even after the user deleted that account. User groups and privacy watchdogs declared that the policy was invasive, according to a report from CNET, with more than 100,000 users joining one online protest group. The Electronic Privacy Information Center threatened to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. Facebook reversed the policy by midweek.
• A popular website that rates service at stores and restaurants is in the eye of an ethics storm after an alternative weekly newspaper alleged that salespeople for the site said they could bury bad reviews if merchants purchased advertising, reports the Wall Street Journal. The site, named Yelp, denied the story and complained about the use of anonymous sources.
• A federal appeals court ruled that a California law banning sales of violent video games to minors is unconstitutional, Bloomberg reports. The court said there is not enough evidence to allow the state’s right to prevent harm to trump free-speech guarantees. Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and Washington each have passed similar laws and have seen them struck down in similar appeals, according to the report.

Sources: CNET, Feb. 20 — Wall Street Journal, Feb. 20 — Bloomberg, Feb. 20.

For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Jan. 12 — Related Newsline story, Dec. 10, 2007 — Related Newsline story, Dec. 3, 2007 — Related Newsline story, July 25, 2005 — Related Newsline story, July 18, 2005.

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One Response »

1. Ethics Newsline® » News » Advertising Stats Increasingly Fudged: Wall Street Journal “Numbers Guy” on March 16th, 2009 at 7:10 pm:

   [...] more information, see: Related Newsline story, Feb. 23 — Related Newsline story, Nov. 24, 2008 — Related Newsline story, Oct. [...]

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