Deontological Argument Analysis

Introduction:

In this paper, I will argue that it is morally wrong for companies to rely on information technologies to track consumer behaviour and to influence buying and consumption decisions when that information enters a person’s sphere of privacy and violates their individual rights to autonomy.

I will use a deontological argument to justify why people have a right to protection from the collection and misuse of their personal information beyond what they knowingly consented to giving. It is acceptable only to the extent that the individual consents to the degree of information collection, and not acceptable if they did not consent. Although deontology asserts many rights-based and interest-based reasons to privacy protection, I will

I will then critique Target’s behaviour and argue that they were not respecting individual autonomy when tracking purchases to influence buying decisions. This argument does bring two internal objections: people consent to Target’s use of information when they agree to shop there and Target is simply gathering information that has already entered the public sphere. I will refute both these objections because people are fundamentally rational and have a freedom to their own being; freedom of choice and freedom of action. Lastly, I will refute the external objection of utilitarianism, arguing that in the long-run the collection of consumer data does not maximise aggregate welfare.

1 – A Deontological argument against companies gathering private information on data subjects:

Deontology is a ‘duty based’ ethical theory that denies the notion that what ultimately matters is an action’s consequences. Immanuel Kant, the most famous deontologist, claims that actions should be judged according to the Categorical Imperative which means that it is important to treat people as autonomous agents (Rachels

For example, a woman buys orange juice at Target versus waiting and getting it with the rest of her food purchases. She does this because she received a strategically placed coupon from Target that week giving her 10% off a superhero T-shirt whose DVD she bought a week earlier with the purchase of a gallon of orange juice. As she recently purchased the DVD, the woman buys the orange juice and the t-shirt not knowing that Target manipulated her into doing so. Through loyalty programs and trading data with other organizations, Target can gather facts wherever and whenever available on-line, in-store and through social media to piece together the data. Since each guest profile contains at a minimum the name, age, marital status, address, credit cards and purchasing preferences, Target’s consumer marketing algorithms can predict individual’s purchasing patterns and preferences and thus act on that data (Duhigg 2012). Target is using the consumer as a data subject to increase their orange juice sales which, according to Kant and the deontological argument, makes Target’s actions