Abstract

In the United States, the personal information of private citizens can end up online many times without permission. This personal information can become publicly available via the internet, where algorithmic driven internet search engines serve as a type of aggregation and retrieval system. Personal information from internet search engines can be compiled and used by frontline practitioners within organizations to form a profile i.e. an online identity about private citizens; where the online identity can be used for making decisions which may cause undue harm. It is not clear if organizations and private citizens are aware of the implications of this phenomenon. This paper discusses emerging concerns regarding the use of internet search engines to form online identities for decision-making and provides an ethical framework in the form of a series of questions to help guide the use of internet search engines and online identities in the day-to-day decision-making processes of frontline practitioners within organizations.

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