Applied Ethics

Information ethics applies ethical principles within the context of information provision, control, and use. By providing a critical framework for considering issues related to information creation, ownership, acquisition, access, and retrieval, information ethics establishes criteria for evaluating policies and decisions regarding information products, delivery, and systems.

Dilemmas regarding information management are increasingly prevalent in a society that is increasingly focused on shared knowledge. Information transmission and literacy are essential concerns in establishing an ethical foundation that promotes fair, equitable, and responsible practices. Information ethics broadly examines issues related to ownership, access, privacy, security, and community (Elrod & Smith). Information technology affects fundamental rights involving copyright protection, intellectual freedom, accountability, and security.

While professional codes offer a basis for making ethical decisions and applying ethical solutions to situations involving information provision and use, which reflect an organization’s commitment to responsible information service, evolving information formats and needs require continual reconsideration of ethical principles and how codes are applied. Considerations regarding information ethics influence “personal decisions, professional practice, and public policy” (Elrod & Smith, p. 1010). Therefore, ethical analysis must take into consideration “many, diverse domains” (ibid.) regarding how information is distributed, maintained, evaluated, and used in an information-dependent society.


EDWIN ELROD and MARTHA SMITH. Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics. Ed. Carl Mitcham. Vol. 2: D-K. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. p1004-1011. 4 vols.