Ethical Issues in Communications

Kevin V. Nguyen

March 18, 2019

Communications has several ethical implications for organizations. There's a significant gray area of VoIP, too, where spammers are. In terms of ethical issues, VoIP creates a lot for businesses and subscribers as well as vendors to think about. The technology has profoundly impacted our world---while the vast majority of these changes are great for consumers, businesses, and the public, not all uses of technology are good for society.

In this article, you'll learn about some of VoIP ethical implications and how the industry can address these issues.

What Are Some Ethical Issues in Communications?

With any technology, there are good, bad, and neutral uses. VoIP is no exception. There are a few controversial and ethically-challenging areas. Thankfully, a company using communications technology responsibly has nothing to fear.

Communications ethical issues come in many shapes and sizes. Usually, ethics has more to do with why technologies are used and what they are used for. The technologies themselves have a great capacity for good. 8x8 stands behind the positive and good ways our customers use communications technology.

That said, there are reasons some people express concern. For instance, here are examples of ethical issues for VoIP communications:

Enabling spam: Most VoIP subscribers use the technology in ethical ways, but VoIP has made it easier for spam callers and scam operators to flood numbers with unwanted and annoying calls---all without the recipients' permission.
Spoofing: A popular scammer technique. Spoofers impersonate other phone numbers in order to appear legitimate on caller IDs. They can look like they're a nearby neighbor and be in a completely different time zone.
Deceptive location: VoIP subscribers can be deceptive about their location. While there's nothing wrong with using a different area code from where you're located, some subscribers may explicitly lie about where their operations are located and some customers may feel deceived by this.
Emergency communications challenges: VoIP doesn't work with enhanced 911 communications unless subscribers set up their location with their VoIP provider. Enhanced services show first responders where callers are located, making it easier to get there. Some callers may assume first responders can find them when they can't.

Of course, there may be other ethical issues as well. In order to navigate these and other challenges, companies should take a proactive and responsible approach to communications and how they use technology. By considering the impact on every stakeholder, organizations can ensure that they're doing what they can to use technology in ethical ways.

How Do Ethical Issues in Communications Relate to CCaaS, UCaaS, and VoIP Software?

Communications is a human activity, and it's hard to talk about anything humans do without approaching the topic of ethics. Any technology has the potential to be used for good or for bad. The technology itself is neutral. Subscribers are responsible for how they use software and must make sure they are weighing the full implications and potential consequences of what they do.

CCaaS (Contact Center as a Service), UCaaS (Unified Communications as a Service), and VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) are services that can be used in many different ways to serve different communications purposes. Subscribers should always be mindful of how they use these technologies and make sure their uses are ethical.

How Do Companies Stay Ethical in Their Communications?

Staying ethical in communications means being mindful of the realities that companies using VoIP technologies face. VoIP has a lot of promise and beneficial features for both industry and society, but in the wrong hands it can cause harm. Companies need to be aware of how they use communications technologies and use them for responsible and benevolent purposes. Serving customers is a great, positive use for communications software. Running a scam isn't. Many of the big ethical issues in communications relate to how technology is used and for what purposes people decide to become subscribers. For most companies, staying ethical with communications is a normal part of the business.

When it comes to ensuring legal communication, 8x8 provides reliable and compliant cloud solutions at a demanding level rarely seen by other cloud providers. Don't take your chances with a subpar cloud-based telecom system. Call 1-866-498-2316 or fill out an online form to request a no-obligation quote from an 8x8 product specialist.