The ACM Code of Ethics contains a clause about respecting the privacy of others. It specifically mentions protecting the privacy of any personal data that a computing professional might be in charge of gathering, organizing, storing, or otherwise maintaining. Unfortunately this guideline does not seem to be in wide use in the industry. Companies are all too ready and willing to sell our personal information to a third party that will then send unsolicited advertising to us. But what if, when the industry was evolving, the system designers and programmers stood up to the companies and said that designing the system to make it easy for personal information to be collected and sold would be against their professional ethics? Perhaps our information would be safer, or would have been for a time. It seems there is always someone out there willing to sell their conscious for few extra bucks. There are times when it is necessary and appropriate for a company to obtain detailed personal information about its customers, specifically when buying something. But in most cases, it is not necessary; there is no reason to know my email address and phone number for me to read a newspaper article. We may not be able to stop what is already occurring, but we as programmers, and as the general public can let companies know that we don't want them collecting any more information on us.

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