(Remember, this is from April 1992, so forgive me for not mentioning Google. I think their ship hadn't arrived on our planet yet.)
"Probably, if not certainly, the most consistently recurring issue in the information field is fear. Fear of new technology threatens progress. Although most now agree that the overall threat from computers is minimal, the fear associated with the instantaneous transfer of data and the voluminous quantities of material which can be stored electronically (and hardly anyone understands how that works) and invisibly is common and understandable. Does anyone really know what happens to data once it is stored? How reliable is the system--does it store exactly what I tell it to, or does it become altered in some way? How do I protect my information from being stolen or intercepted when it's transferred over the phone lines? These are all fears which have to be overcome by information professionals daily.
The fear can be compounded by another issue currently on the frontal lobes of information professionals: the global community. The expanding information needs of developed and developing countries is and will be a major information science issue for the coming decades. Information technologies such as integrated services digital networks (ISDN) are being used to link multiples of users together at work stations via international telephone lines. This allows for persons with related interests from any area with good telephone connections to "meet" and participate in real "same-time" dialogue with the assistance of computers, video monitors, and satellite links. The need to travel hundreds or even thousands of miles for conferences or seminars can be eliminated.
Global universities are also possibilities as technologies advance. Students may find that they can take courses in other countries with native students without leaving their local college.
Although the main obstacle blocking these world-wide advancements is not fear of technology, but fear of American influence, and fear of the loss of nationalism, and of culture. Unlike Americans and most Europeans, many of the societies in the rest of the world base their loyalties and beliefs in the larger group mentality and not in individuality. Access to information upsets those systems.
Thus, the expanding "global village" and the fear of technology will continue to be related concerns for members of the information village. It is extremely important for us to allay those fears by establishing some ethical guidelines.
So, given the emotional importance of ethics in the world of information technology, it is vital that some ethical issues be considered. Since information science is such a new area and since there is little state or federal legislation to regulate it, the need for professional ethics is essential. The right to privacy has always been recognized as fundamental, but in the newest technology, how can it be guaranteed? Therefore, privacy becomes paramount in any respectable information scientists' code of ethics. Legal and product liability are also major concerns as databases are being constructed and sold as products. Who becomes liable in the event that information in a database proves to be wrong, or harmful, or causes injury or death? Should the original author be held responsible or should it be the database organizer? These questions have yet to be tried or resolved. Solid ethical guidelines should minimize the odds that resolution will be necessary. The idea of intellectual property ownership requires ethical principles to keep the waters calm. Who owns the database when it consists of other copyrighted works and only the collective work is owned by the database builder? How can data be protected during electronic transfer? Can it be intercepted prior to the author establishing proper copyright protection criteria? Again, strong ethics can minimize these events.
Since much of the future of information science will continue to rely on telecommunications technology for information access and retrieval, the most important recent legislative event was the granting of, and the revocation of special services privileges to the Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOC). If allowed, it could allow for telephone companies to out price their competition for information services because they own the technology which carries it. It could create huge telephone/information monopolies which could regulate the value of information and charge whatever they wished. If allowed, it could kill the individual information broker or send him scurrying to the nearest academic library to use its system."
