effects e.g self-harm.
• As a result of the experiment those unknowingly participating in the study could be missing information from.
their "friends" as it was filtered by Facebook.
• Other social media sites who may decide to adopt the practices of the study.
Who is affected? .
The article describes multiple stakeholders, they are listed below:.
Facebook.
This issues affects Facebook as a company its shareholders and those within the organisation that setup, agreed and carried out the experiment. The effects within Facebook as an organisation are far reaching. The public's trust of Facebook may have been damaged, this could result in loss of users, which in turn could harm revenue. They could also face further legal challenges in the wake of how the study was conducted and its results.
Universities.
The Universities involved in the study, were they aware of how the study was conducted? The public's opinion of them may have suffered as a result of being involved with this study. .
Users of Facebook.
This affects both the users involved in the study and all Facebook users as a whole. Users have placed a certain degree of trust in Facebook to abide in an ethical manner. They may feel this trust has been broken. .
Politicians and Legal Teams.
The results of this study have the possibility for far reaching consequences. Politicians and Lawyers will be arguing the legality of the study itself, and the ability for Facebook or others to manipulate its user's thoughts and emotions. Legislation could be drawn up in the future to prevent these actions.
What are the ethical issues and implications? .
There are two main ethical issues that emerge from this article. They are, Facebook failed to inform its users that they were part of an experiment, therefore not gaining consent. Further to this there is an ethical concern over the ability of a Social Media Site to manipulate people thoughts and emotions.