Email Privacy

Trident University International

Module 2 Case Assignment

ETH301 – Business Ethics

Email Privacy

Justin Ellsworth was a US Marine who was killed by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) while serving his country during the Global War on Terrorism efforts in Iraq. After his death, his parents requested access to his personal emails; however, his email service provider, Yahoo, declined the request stating that their privacy policy prohibited them from doing so. The courts got involved and ordered Yahoo to release the contents within the email account to his parents. Should Justin Ellsworth’s parents have been given access to his email account? In this essay I will address the answer to this question from the utilitarian and deontological point of view.

When you register with Yahoo there is a terms of service agreement. In this term of service agreement you provide your personal information such as your name, email address, birth date, gender, ZIP code, occupation, industry, and personal interests. For some financial products and services they might also ask for your address, social security number, and information about your assets. When you register with Yahoo and sign their services, you are not anonymous to them. Yahoo uses this information for the following general purposes: to customize the advertising and content you see, fulfill your requests for products and services, improve their services, contact you, conduct research, and provide anonymous reporting for internal and external clients. In Yahoo’s terms of service agreement they state that they have physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards that comply with federal regulations to protect personal information about you. When you register with Yahoo you are given a username and a password to secure your personal information from unwanted individuals. Yahoo states that you are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of the password and account, and are fully responsible for all...