Professional Code of Ethics and Ethical Theory Analysis

The ACM and IEEE Computer Society define a Professional Code of Ethics for Software Engineers. This code emphasizes a commitment to the public good in all professional activities (Bednar & Spiekermann, S2023). It also stresses honesty, integrity, fairness, and respect toward all stakeholders. Protecting user privacy and data security is a key requirement. The code further highlights the importance of ongoing professional development.

The Code of Ethics includes specific guidelines for making ethical decisions in the practice of Software Engineering. These guidelines include, responsibility to all stakeholders who are impacted by the software systems, avoiding harm to users and society and transparency in decision-making‌ (Bednar & Spiekermann, S2023). As such, software engineers must remain accountable for their professional actions at all times, and these components serve as a foundation for ethical behavior throughout the entire process of software design and implementation.

According to deontological ethics, individuals have a moral duty or obligation to act according to established moral rules and standards for moral action. Under this form of ethics, a software engineer's duty is to protect the user's privacy regarding their personal information. Therefore, a software engineer will have an ethical responsibility to maintain the user's personal information privacy, regardless of any time pressure caused by deadlines related to the project. As Bednar and Spiekermann (2023) state, ethical considerations should always be part of a technologist's practice. Therefore, a software engineer should never release an application that is not adequately secured using strong encryption because to release such a product would violate the ethical principles of protecting the user over all other considerations.

Utilitarianism evaluates actions by examining the outcomes of those actions; for instance, businesses may evaluate whether using customer information would allow for more efficient customer service delivery. Utilitarian philosophies weigh benefits to users based on the convenience of immediacy against the potential for losing customer privacy. Henriksen et al. (2025) describe this trade-off by stating that customers often agree to give up their privacy for the sake of convenience. If the advantages produced by using customer data exceed the harms associated with losing privacy, utilitarian principles support the use of this data; however, utilitarianism warns businesses about the future harm caused by a loss of trust in business operations.

In the virtue ethics approach to ethical decision-making, moral character rather than rules and regulations, as well as consequences, is emphasized (Henriksen et al., 2025). This focuses on the traits of honesty, integrity, and wisdom. An engineer who employs this ethical philosophy is honest and open about the limitations of the software he develops. Through this type of transparency, engineers establish trust with users and stakeholders by being truthful about the risks associated with using that software. For instance, in disclosing that addressing a security flaw could delay delivery of the software, the engineer has exhibited a high degree of professional character and ethical dedication.