American University Communication Ethics Discussion
The above images depict the founding of Facebook and how it has been used in recent years; it’s hard to argue that any social media platform has had as much of an impact on the world. This week, we’ll be unpacking a particular incident that happened before the 2016 presidential election.
News has just become public: Cambridge Analytica used Facebook users’ data without their awareness to try influencing them during the 2016 Presidential campaign. U.S. citizens, the Congress, and Facebook’s Board of Directors are alarmed, demanding an explanation of how to prevent the same mistake from recurring. The Chief Executive Officer, Mark Zuckerberg, schedules a meeting with the Director of Business Development, Director of Marketing, and Director of Information Security to discuss what happened. Assume that you are one of these directors and that you will meet with the other two directors. Before the meeting, everyone should review the background materials. During the meeting, each group member should choose a role. Then the group should answer the questions below, drawing from at least two sources not provided by the instructor. Incorporate at least one principle from the Social Media Club’s code of conduct and any other relevant values. Also, include any facts, citing them.
What does Facebook need to decide?
What are the one or more moral problems?
- How are factors internal to Facebook contributing to the one or more problems? Provide enough of an explanation to imply one or more solutions to the problem (without naming the solutions).
- How are factors external to Facebook contributing to the one or more problems? Provide enough of an explanation to imply one or more solutions to the problem (without naming the solutions).
