Ethics

Running Head: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACTS

Information Technology Acts

Stephen McElvine

[Name of the institution]

Information Technology Acts

Intrоduсtiоn

For many years Congress or the Federal Government had to step in to assist and protect consumers by creating lawful Acts. There were many advances in information technology that resulted in issues necessitating the creation of certain acts that the government had to implement. Presently the Federal Government has numerous acts that authorize the government to implement consumer protection; however, this paper will address only two of them. The two that will be discussed in this paper are Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1970 and the Do not Call Implementation Act of 2003.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act, 1970 (FCRA) was implemented to help the banks and the consumer. The FCRA, enforced by the Federal Trade Commission, is designed to promote accuracy, fairness, and to protect a person’s personal information gathered by Credit Reporting Agencies (pueblo.gsa.gov). The advancement of information technology has increased how the credit reporting agencies deal with individuals that try to obtain credit; this technological advancement also resulted in ethical issues, necessitating the creation of the FCRA. Prior to the FCRA, there was wide spread abuse in the credit reporting industry. Individual’s personal information was being sold to various companies, such as insurers and employers and on top of that, it was found that some of the information being reported was untrue. This report led to many being denied services and various opportunities to advance. The FCRA limits the use of your individual credit reports to only certain purposes. It also affords individuals a private right of action that can be pursued in federal or state court against many credit Reporting Agencies reporting false information. This Act was also implemented to ensure that Americans are...