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Ethical and Legal Issues Concerning Email For the last 10 years the service of e-mail (transmitting of electronic text messages via Internet from one e-mail box to another) received huge popularity. It became fast and rather reliable way of communication, allowing connecting people from any distant places on earth. Frequently e-mail is used by numerous business companies and organizations with the purpose of marketing, promotion or selling of their goods and services. That is why recently the issues of legal and ethical usage of e-mail communication become really important point.
First of all, a code of principles of privacy and confidentiality must be followed by all e-mail service users. Every e-mail subscriber has an e-mail address, identifying his e-mail box, and a password, which allows the access to the very messages. Policy of privacy means not to disclose the passwords to the third persons and this way to avoid unwanted interference and publicizing of private information, which may be in e-mail box. Besides, it is ethically desirable to protect privacy and confidentiality of other people and do not disclose the passwords of the third persons if you happen to learn them. It may seem that it is rather difficult to interfere into e-mail communication between Internet users and infringe the right of privacy, as all the e-mail boxes are protected by passwords. In real it is not quite right, and specialists compare confidentiality of an e-mail message with confidentiality of a postcard.
It happens because of intermediate devices, which transmit the messages and can be controlled by the third parts in order to monitor private information. Besides, there are people, who may use particular methods to open (hack) e-mail boxes and receive the access to all the data. In 1986 American Government adopted the Act of Electronic Communications Privacy, which legally prohibits disclosing the information delivered by an oral, wire, electronic communication to a third party, except of the cases of accidental receiving of such information and suspicion of criminal intentions. Therefore, those individuals, who try to hack or steal passwords and e-mail addresses of Internet users, who send abusive or offensive messages, who try to spread PC viruses by e-mail, who use e-mail addresses or obtained private information in other unlawful purposes, may be sent to court and receive punishment.
Nowadays a problem of receiving lots of unwanted messages (spam) is widely spread. Internet users receive many commercial, promoting, advertising or other sorts of messages, which are absolutely not in the point of interest for e-mail users. It is strictly not ethical to send such messages, and such actions may be legally punished. Also a rule of e-mail ethic is to report about receiving spam to special e-mail administrators of particular domains. There is a special code of business e-mail communication ethic, which may be defined.
As a rule, every important member of business organization receives own e-mail address at corporate domain for his or her particular business communication. Important point of ethic is not to use corporate e-mail address in personal purposes, especially for unrelated trade, commercial offers or annoying correspondence. It is a rule of business ethic not to monitor e-mail addresses of other users without special official authorization, and, of course, to keep electronic corporate information confidential, to use such information only for the benefit and advantage of the company or organization. In addition to above mentioned, there is one more rule of e-mail communication ethic that is not to send chain letters. There are numerous messages, which do not have any negative content (like anecdotes, funny stories, amusing news, rumors, contests, etc. ) and can be distributed between close friends, acquaintances, etc. by e-mail.
It would be ethically correct to send such messages only after making sure that the recipient is really interested in receiving of such information and will not be annoyed by it. As e-mailing becomes a useful and comfortable service for millions of people around the world, it is necessary and valuable to know these simple rules of ethic of electronic communication and to obey them. Bibliography: Email Issues Legal and Ethical. (2005, January 28). Information Technology Division, Essentials @ NC State.
Retrieved February 10, 2005 from the World Wide Web: web E-mail, Sensitive Information, and Confidentiality: Legal Issues. (n. d. ). Pennsylvania University Official Site. Retrieved February 10, 2005 from the World Wide Web: web Email the Legal Issues. (n. d. ). Speeches Group Halberstam LLP Retrieved February 10, 2005 from the World Wide Web: web
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Research essay sample on Ethical And Legal Issues Concerning Email
