Ethical question why are Closed systems wrong?

[Speed Daemon]

yes.. you have the right to do as you please with the thing you created. you can choose not to dial 911 when you see someone in danger.

Yes.. it is immoral to with hold that info from the world... and let people die.
it is bad/immoral for you to watch someone in danger and not dial 911.

Does that apply equally to people who live in neighborhoods where any contact with the authorities, no matter what the purpose is taboo, and the people in the neighborhood regularly take revenge on people who they view as "snitches"? On the other side of the same coin, someone who is the only one to call 911 to report a violent crime immediately becomes the police's prime suspect. Is it really "bad/immoral" for innocent people to save themselves from retaliation and persecution?

 

[wingman4ever]

I thank all of you for your posts!

I think it's really hard to argue that Closed Systems are ethically wrong because of this:

If the end user is told that the system is closed before purchase, then you don't even have an argument. There is nothing wrong with it when they know what they're getting into.
- ILYfp​

So I may just turn it around and argue that Apple has all the right to do so. Although I still hate Apple for forcing people by trying to block Jailbreaking or even not giving the people the ability of fixing their own Macbook.

My assignment is actually not a real big deal. I just have to have a small discussion with the teacher. No paper needed. But it does improve my mark a little though.

So what I have now is that Closed Systems in this example IOS have the right to do so because:
- It was the buyers own choice. They know what they were getting and it must have been stated by Apple somewhere.
- To protect their "It Just Works" Principle.
- To protect their company's profit and of course the application-developers profit.

If there are more I would like to hear them.

And again thanks for all the replies.

 

[EarlyMon]

- It was the buyers own choice. They know what they were getting and it must have been stated by Apple somewhere.

That's a great approach but proceed with caution on the assumption that that second part of the second sentence (it must have been stated by Apple) is _always_ true.

People may have had no way of knowing what they were getting into and haven't always been told. Who can say with certainty?

Apple (any vendor) can reserve the right to change your software's functions without notice.

A capability purchased today may not exist after an update.

Or hidden behaviors may exist that may be difficult to find.

Consumers were never told about this -

APPLE: This Location-Tracking Scandal Is Total B.S. - Business Insider

What do you believe? Was Apple being truthful? Would this bug have been fixed without a public outcry?

Your teacher may ask these sort of questions.

(And that's just an example - the same sort of questions could be raised about either open or closed systems - so - do people really know everything about what they're getting into? Was it written down somewhere?)

100% agree that consumers do choose, and in general, either know what their choices involve, or generally could have know.

Best luck, glad our debates and views have proven helpful!!!