Case Illustration: Toysmart.Com

CASE ILLUSTRATION: TOYSMART.COM

Consumers who engaged in transactions with Toysmart were assured, via an online trust seal, that their personal data would be protected. The vendor's policy stated that personal information disclosed to Toysmart would be used internally but would not be sold to or exchanged with external vendors; so, users dealing with Toysmart could expect that their personal data would remain in Toysmart's databases and not be further disclosed or sold to a third party. In the spring of 2000, however, Toysmart was forced t file for bankruptcy.

Toysmart ceased operations in May 2000 and decided to solicit bids for its assets, which included its databases containing the name of customers. Parties interested in purchasing that information believed that they were under no obligation to adhere to the privacy policy that Toysmart had established with its clients. So whoever either took over Toysmart or purchased Toysmart's databases, would, in principle, be free to do whatever they wished with the personal information it had gathered, despite the fact that such information was given to Toysmart by clients under the belief that information about them would be protected indefinitely.

Tavani, Herman T. (2007). Ethics & Technology: Ethical Issues in an Age of Information and Communication Technology, 2nd ed., (p. 160). Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Critical Thinking Issues

Discuss the rights and responsibilities of disclosing personal information to online vendors. Who is responsible? Is anyone at fault? What are the ethical issues involved in this use of technology? Does the United States' privacy legislation protect its citizens? Why or why not? What are some solutions to online privacy concerns?