Ethics for Records and Information Management Norman Mooradian CHICAGO :: 2018 alastore.ala.org NORMAN MOORADIAN, PhD, has had a dual career working as an academic focusing on information ethics and as an information management professional. He has worked in the information technology field for close to twenty years in the area of enterprise content management (ECM). Mooradian received PhD and MA degrees in philosophy from Ohio State University, and he has completed graduate courses in legal studies at the University of Illinois, Springfield. He has researched and published on issues in information technology ethics and business ethics. He has also taught ethics, business ethics, and logic and critical thinking at various colleges and universities over the last two decades. Mooradian is currently a senior solutions analyst in Konica Minolta's ECM Division, where his responsibilities include business analysis, systems architecture, documentation, and education. © 2018 by the American Library Association Extensive effort has gone into ensuring the reliability of the information in this book; however, the publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein. ISBNs 978-0-8389-1639-1 (paper) 978-0-8389-1764-0 (PDF) 978-0-8389-1763-3 (ePub) 978-0-8389-1765-7 (Kindle) Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Control Number: 2018010397 Cover image © Maxim Pavlov. Book design and composition by Karen Sheets de Gracia in the Cardea and Acumin Pro typefaces. This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48–1992 (Permanence of Paper). Printed in the United States of America 22 21 20 19 18 5 4 3 2 1 alastore.ala.org / vii / C ONT ENTS List of figures xiii INTRODUCTION xv Principles/Rules-Based Approach xv Judgment xvi Exceptions xvi Professional Ethics xvii Organizational Context xviii Private Sector xviii Public Sector xix Not for Profit xix Structure of RIM Ethics xx Issues xxi Truth/Deception xxi Confidentiality/Disclosure xxi Information Privacy xxii Whistle-Blowing xxii Conflicts of Interest xxiii Intellectual Property xxiii Principles/Rules-Based Approach versus a Compliance Approach xxiv The Objectives of This Book and the Criteria of Success xxv 1 The Structure of Ethics 1 Introduction: Sources of Ethical Obligation 1 The Ethical Framework 2 Principles and General Rules 2 Specific Rules and Particular Judgments 4 Principles 4 Principle of Non-Maleficence or Non-Harm 5 Principle of Autonomy 5 Principle of Fairness 7 alastore.ala.org / CONTENTSvii i Principle of Responsibility 7 Principle of Beneficence 8 Moral Rules 9 Moral Rule 1: It Is Wrongful to Cause the Death of Another Human Being 9 Moral Rule 2: It Is Wrongful to Injure Another Human Being 10 Moral Rule 3: It Is Wrongful to Cause Mental Suffering to Another Human Being 10 Moral Rule 4: It Is Wrongful to Steal from Another Human Being 10 Moral Rule 5: It Is Wrongful to Unnecessarily Put the Welfare of Another Human Being at Risk 10 Moral Rule 6: It Is Wrongful to Deceive Another Human Being 10 Moral Rule 7: It Is Wrongful to Break Promises 11 Moral Rule 8: It Is Wrongful to Cheat 11 Moral Rule 9: It Is Wrongful Not to Make Reparations for Wrongs That One Has Committed 11 Ethical Judgments and Exceptions 11 Classification of Principles and Moral Rules 13 Negative/Positive Duties and Perfect/Imperfect Duties 13 Prohibitions, Obligations, and Permissions 14 Rights 15 2 Ethical Reasoning 19 Introduction 19 Ethical Judgments: Meaning and Logic 20 Universality: Treating Like Cases Similarly 20 Impartiality 21 Action-Guiding/Prescriptive 21 Overriding 22 Punishable 22 Top-Down Reasoning 23 A Slight Modification to the Standard Model of Top-Down Reasoning 27 Exceptions and Bottom-Up Reasoning 29 A Taxonomy of Ethical Knowledge 31 Moral Dilemmas 34 Decision-Making Procedures 38 Framing the Question 39 Investigate the Issue 39 Justify a Position/Decision 40 alastore.ala.org CONTENTS / ix 3 Professional Ethics 43 Introduction 43 Professions and Professionalism 43 Mastery of a Specialized Body of Knowledge 43 Trust and Autonomy 44 Professional Standards and Communities 44 Professional Responsibilities 45 Public Service Mission 46 Records and Information Management as a Profession 47 The Ethical Core of RIM 50 The Positive Value of Accountability 52 The Ethical Core for Archivists and Librarians 53 Conflicts of Interest 54 Examples of Conflicts of Interest 55 Problems with Conflicts of Interests 56 The Morality of Conflicts of Interest 56 The Virtuous Public Official 57 The Lax Public Official 57 Ways to Deal with Conflicts of Interest 58 Conflicts of Interest and the Records Profession 59 The Case of Arthur Andersen 60 Records Management's Role in Compliance Efforts 61 Confidentiality 62 The Ethical Grounds of Confidentiality 63 The Obligation for Nondisclosure 63 The Justification for Nondisclosure 64 RIM Practitioners 66 The Case of Electronic Health Records 67 4 Management Ethics 69 Introduction 69 Stakeholder Management 69 The Ethics of Stakeholder Management 70 RIM Stakeholders 72 Intellectual Property 74 Copyright and RIM Stakeholders 77 Copyright and Public Records 80 Trade Secrets and RIM Stakeholders 81 Employee Monitoring and Records 83 alastore.ala.org / CONTENTSx 5 Whistle-Blowing and Information Leaks 87 Introduction: Whistle-Blowing and Leaking 87 The Importance of Whistle-Blowing and Leaking to Information Professionals 88 Definition of Whistle-Blowing 88 Internal vs. External Whistle-Blowing 89 External vs. Internal Reporting 89 Internal vs. External Wrongs 90 The Problems of Whistle-Blowing 90 The Personal Problem 90 The Moral Problem 91 Analysis of the Moral Problem 92 Conflicting Duties: Moral Reasons Not to Blow the Whistle 93 Moral Responsibility 99 Justification 100 Moral Heroism 101 Moral Obligation 102 Arguments from the Principle of Non-Maleficence 103 Arguments from Non-Complicity 105 Records Professionals 106 Leaking and Information Breaches 107 The Objectives of Leaking 108 The Ethics of Leaking 109 Anonymity 109 Political or Social Motivation 110 Case Study: The Case of Edward Snowden 111 Bulk Metadata Collection 112 PRISM 112 X-Keyscore 112 Ethical Analysis 113 6 Information Privacy 115 Introduction 115 The Problem of Information Privacy 117 Basic Meanings of the Word Privacy 118 Information Privacy as Ethical Personal Information Management 119 Types of Personal Information 120 Information Privacy: Values and Harms 121 Information Privacy and the Ethical Framework 123 alastore.ala.org CONTENTS / xi Information Privacy Frameworks 124 The OECD Guidelines 125 Applying Information Privacy Ethics to RIM Practices 129 Capture 131 Creation and Receipt 132 Applying Privacy Concepts 132 Workflow/Collaboration 133 Distribution and Use 133 Applying Privacy Concepts 133 Access 134 Distribution and Use 134 Applying Privacy Concepts 135 Storage 135 Maintenance and Disposition 136 Applying Privacy Concepts 136 Case Study: Using the Privacy Principles to Evaluate the Ethics of NSA Surveillance Programs 137 7 Concluding Thoughts: Information Governance and Ethics 141 Introduction 141 Definition of Information Governance 141 A Framework of Frameworks 142 The Normative Dimension of Governance 142 Appendix A Disagreement, Relativism, and the Ethical Framework 147 Appendix B Applying Principles and Rules to Privacy Values 151 Privacy and Ethical Principles 151 Privacy and Moral Rules 153 Appendix C Synopsis of Chapters 159 Chapter 1: The Structure and Content of Ethics 160 Chapter 2: Ethical Reasoning 165 Chapter 3: Professional Ethics 168 Chapter 4: Management Ethics 172 Chapter 5: Whistle-Blowing and Information Leaks 175 Chapter 6: Information Privacy 178 BiBLiography 181 index 185 alastore.ala.org