Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Anthropological Ethics -- Privacy in a Social networked World

Today the American Anthropological Association has revised its ethics code.

One of the key issues is "privacy." and informed concept. While this is an important issue for academic researcher, how does it relate to the applied business anthropologist hired by a private business or by the government regulatory agency overseeing the industry in which that the private business operates?

Here is an example of how modern technology and data mining are changing the landscape of "privacy" and the practical application of informed consent.


Wall Street traders mine tweets to gain a trading edge

What are you thoughts?

Should this be a topic for academic basic research - the practice of data mining and how business ethics addresses the issue.

How does it fit with the AAA's position on IRBs and the Common Rule?

1 comment:

Barry R. Bainton, PhD, MBA said...

How about what is going on today with Facebook http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/more-colleges-employers-requesting-applicants-facebook-passwords-ever-000007763.html

Are anthropologists any more ethical than their University employers?