Ethical Challenge 2: Sony Hack Scandal

Computer and account hacking has become a prominent issue for many high profile public figures as well as corporate companies. From nude photographs to customers’ financial data, it seems like nothing saved on a data program is safe. However, when a corporate company such as Sony has their executive emails hacked, leaking embarrassing and degrading correspondence, how should everyone respond? Many felt that they deserved the embarrassment of being caught in their judgment and inappropriate language in regards to celebrities and political figures, such as President Obama.

1. As the CEO I would have issued an immediate apology to the public, the individuals who were involved in the emails and the uninvolved Sony employees. However, I also would have stepped down from my position as a Sony executive, because it is a tarnishing reflection on the company and on one’s professionalism. As a journalist, I would have still published the information even though it was technically stolen, as most news outlets undoubtedly found out about it after it had been published on an individual website. Once information is out, it is automatically news. While the republishing of hacked nude pictures would be not only obscene but also unethical, the reporting of corporate executives insulting some of the best know public figures in western culture is not a story you bypass.

2. I reached this decision because as I said, once accounts of public figures or companies are hacked, the information is almost immediately published on independent sites. It only takes a few thousand site clicks until it becomes news, it is not the type of information that established news outlets allow to be absent from their own sites. Even reporting on the hack itself is relevant and intriguing news, everyone is fascinated by these cases and how they keep occurring.

3. I decided based on these factors because journalists and members of the media are taught from the start, “If it bleeds, it leads” when choosing what stories to publish. While I don’t believe in publishing scandal stories simply on the basis of exploiting the parties involved, hacking scandals such as this are fair news because they can bring down an individuals reputation and company’s credibility in the public eye and the industry. Also, the hackings themselves of private and professional accounts is definitely unethical, but still arguably gray in regards to whether it is illegal. The theft of private property is definitely illegal, but what about when these materials have been deleted off of devices and hackers are operating solely through data, who does the information belong to when it has been deleted? Like the proverbial trash that police and media members go through when a high profile individual is in the limelight, can these third parties go through discarded property we have and/or create?

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