Internet Privacy and Business Ethics

Act as a member of a kingdom in which you are both subject and sovereign: All of the premises implied in Kant's third categorical imperative have a direct application to the entities (companies or government) seeking information and the individual Internet user from whom they seek the information.
Internet firms or the government should consider the interests of the individual's from whom they seek information, the Internet users should be involved in the structuring of the programs that are used to gather information and how that information will be further distributed, if at all.
CONCLUSION
The global nature of the Internet makes addressing the legal issues associated with Internet or information privacy daunting and complex. It is a legal arena without walls or physical boundaries, where the laws vary from country to country. Even within the United States there is dissent and disagreement about the definitions of "Internet Privacy," who owns that information, and what constitutes appropriate or inappropriate use of that information.
Perhaps the issues that have been unsuccessfully resolved through the law (or because of a lack of relevant laws) can be resolved through the creation of moral and ethical guidelines that will frame the issues, at which point legal protections can be put in place.
…