Ethics Action Plan for Facebook
Introduction
Facebook is one of the largest social media companies in the world, with over one billion users globally. Facebook is regarded as one of the best companies to work for because of its happy, relaxed, and free working environment as well as its perks and allowances. Founded by Mark Zuckerberg in his Harvard dorm room in 2006, the company has grown exponentially into the behemoth it is today. Facebook provides its users with a platform to connect regardless of geographical distance. Users can post photographs, exchange messages, form groups, among many other functionalities. Because of its many features, Facebook has revolutionized the way people interact and has been a pioneer in making the world a global village. Facebook also acquired other social media platforms, such as WhatsApp, Instagram, and Oculus. With these three and the Facebook platform, the Facebook company handles a vast amount of data. This data is either public information or private user data. Facebook users trust the company with their information. Facebook, therefore, has an ethical responsibility to protect the users’ and personnel’s data. However, with the numbers of leaks and hacks of information on Facebook, such as the Cambridge Analytica scandal that rocked the world, an ethics action plan for protecting users and personnel data, is pertinent. This paper will first look at the current ethical standards of Facebook’s protection of user and personnel data policy. Then the article will outline the goals of an action plan and the various methods that the action plan’s goals will be disseminated within the organization, and how these goals will be measured. The paper will then conclude with how a leader can use these measurements to make decisions in the organization.
Current Code of Ethics on Protection of User and Personnel Data
Facebook’s current code of ethics on the protection of user and personnel data is as follows. Employees at the company are reminded that depending on their various roles at the company will have access to information belonging to other individuals, including users and Facebook personnel, that would otherwise not be visible to them. The employees are expected to treat this data with the utmost sensitivity and caution. Employees are prohibited from accessing the user and personnel data unless it is necessary for the performance of their job duties. Data privacy is also covered in the Code of Ethics section on the compliance of laws. Facebook expects that its personnel must comply with the applicable data privacy laws and legal requirements. Employees are encouraged and expected to report any instances or suspicions they have over a breach of privacy or potential violation to a manager, Human Resources, Internal Audit, or the Legal Department. Employees can also report anonymously using the company’s Whistleblower hotline. Facebook considers a violation of the data privacy of the users or other personnel as grounds for disciplinary or remedial action. Also, those who fail to report any known breach of data privacy may face disciplinary action and termination of their employment and relationship with Facebook.
Goals of the Plan
The principal objective of the action plan will be to clearly define the ethics dimensions regarding data privacy and the protection of user and personnel data. In its current composition, the definition of the dimensions regarding data privacy is too subjective and can be easily misunderstood even by employees. The action plan will seek to edit the Code of Ethics to ensure that the definition of the dimension of ethics is clear and understandable to Facebook personnel. The employees of Facebook and Facebook’s affiliates will not only be expected to practice caution and restraint with user information, but they will also be expected to disclose how they use this information and for what purpose they chose to use the information. This will be aimed to create a system of accountability, particularly from Facebook affiliates such as contractors, applications, and persons or corporates that use data from Facebook because most data breaches and cases of data misuse originate from these parties. The other goal of the plan will be to institute a more open system where employees can report incidences of data breaches and suspicions of data breaches. Finally, the plan will seek to bring in partners and contractors of Facebook into the current Code of Ethics on the protection and privacy of users and personnel and data. By bringing partners such as applications and marketers that use information acquired from Facebook’s database into Facebook’s strict code of ethics on data privacy and protecting the user and personnel data, instances of data misuse will reduce. The overall objective of the action plan is to institute a culture where the privacy and integrity of user and personnel data is a central cog to the Facebook machine and in important consideration for Facebook employees and its affiliates.
Methods of Dissemination of Ethical Standards
The improved ethical standards of Facebook will be disseminated to Facebook employees and affiliates in several ways. The first method that will be used is in the orientation of new company employees. Orientation processes are where the company culture is ingrained in the employees and have a lasting impact on the employees. By introducing these new ethical standards that make data privacy and the protection of user and personnel data sacred to the new employees, the culture will be introduced from the recruits and reverberate throughout the company. For the current employees, a company email will be sent out to inform them of the new ethical standards. Employees will be asked to consult Human Resources or the Legal Department for further clarification in case of any uncertainties about the new expectations of ethical standards. To further galvanize these ethical standards, Human Resources, in conjunction with the Legal Department, will work together to organize a training seminar where they can explain these new standards to employees.
For Facebook affiliates such as applications, contractors, and marketers who use Facebook data in their operations will also be informed of these new ethical standards. The terms and conditions under which their relationship with Facebook is based on will be revised and the new ethical standards included. Affiliates will have to accept these new terms and conditions to show commitment toward ensuring that data is private, protected, and not misused. Facebook users will also be notified of these new ethical standards and be informed of the new ways through which they can protect their data and report incidences where they suspect any breach of data privacy.
Message
With these new ethical standards, Facebook will have a message that will be disseminated throughout the organization, to its affiliates and its customers. The message will be, “DATA IS OUR LIFELINE AND WE ARE DEDICATED TO PROTECTING IT.”
Measurement
After introducing these new ethical measures and standards, measurements will have to be taken to assess whether implementation has been successful. The first method of measuring is through customer surveys. Users will be asked to respond to a questionnaire aimed at evaluating how much they trust Facebook and its affiliates with their data every bi-monthly. The survey results will be analyzed, and depending on the level of customer confidence and trust, the organization will be able to assess whether the new ethical standards have become a culture of the company. Also, Facebook can log complaints from users concerning suspected data breaches. If the prevalence of complaints does not reduce in the period after the action plan has been executed relative to the period before, then it implies that the ethical standards have not taken root. The company will also survey employees who will be asked to anonymously respond to some questions aimed at finding out their opinion on whether the company is adhering to the ethical standards on data privacy. The feedback from employees is crucial as it can be used to gauge whether the culture of protecting user data has taken root. If the employees express confidence in the company’s adherence to its ethical standards, this will imply that employees trust each other and that the culture of ethicality in handling user and personnel data has taken root.
How Leaders Can Use These Measurements
Based on the results obtained from these measurements, leaders can use the results to gauge whether the ethical standards have been adopted as company culture and that they are being adhered to. If the feedback from these measurements reveals positive results, leaders can congratulate and motivate the employees and affiliates to continue with the same vigor. Using encouragement and motivation, employees will feel appreciated and further accept the new ethical standards as company culture. On the other hand, if the results indicate that new ethical standards have not truly set in, the leader can find measures to make changes in implementation. This can include investigating the impediments that hamper the adoption of the new ethical standards and finding ways to overcoming these impediments. New training systems can be rolled out, and the leader can encourage and motivate the employees.
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