The widespread use of information technology has raised a number of ethical issues for people.
The type of processing raises issues of security and flexibility. It is easier to secure data on one computer rather than on numerous workstations. Therefore centralised processing is more secure than distributed processing. On the other hand, distributed processing is much more flexible and is not totally dependent on one central computer.
Ownership of processed data is causing increasing concern in society. Organisations can use our preferences, weaknesses and habits to their commercial advantage. Data on what we buy, how we pay for it, what we read, what we watch on television and how much we earn is valuable to those who want to sell us things.
Bias in processing can be caused by biased data being collected, or incorrect manipulation of that data.