Ethical Question analysis: Cryptocurrency

Please write a full Ethical Question Outline analysis using the following as your ethical question (no need to come up with your own ethical question):

Should Signal introduce a privacy coin cryptocurrency payment system that would allow users to make payments anonymously, but that might cause increased regulatory scrutiny that could lead to a crackdown on encrypted messaging?

BACKGROUND

The articles you will need to read in order to write your analysis are linked here: 

1: https://www.theverge.com/22249391/signal-app-abuse-messaging-employees-violence-misinformation

2: https://www.theverge.com/22872133/signal-cryptocurrency-payments-encryption-invite-regulator-scrutiny

If you find yourself needing more information about end-to-end encryption or privacy coins (a specific type of cryptocurrency) in order to understand these articles, I’d recommend starting here:

What is a privacy coin?

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mE3cqhgeytM

What is end-to-end encryption?

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yeb6tq94No

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO

Your Ethical Question analysis should cover the following (refer to the Ethical Question Outline in Content if you have any questions, and feel free to contact me):

1. BACKGROUND (one paragraph)

2. ETHICAL QUESTION (use the ethical question above)

3. STAKEHOLDERS (one paragraph for each stakeholder group): If Signal decides to make this change, what would the short-term and long-term effects of this decision be on the stakeholder groups below?

-Donors (Signal is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and is funded by donations. As a nonprofit, Signal does not face pressure to make a profit from investors, but they do need funding to come from somewhere. They get donations from users, and have also received large donations in the past from individuals like WhatsApp’s cofounder (who left WhatsApp because of arguments with Facebook over user privacy).

-Workers

-Customers

-Executives 

-Community

-Future Generations

4. INFLUENCES

-Individual Influences (one paragraph): What priorities, or motivations, might be influencing the individual decisionmakers at the company as they weigh this decision? What, if anything, do we know about them as individual people?  

-Corporate Influences (one paragraph): What do we know about the company’s history, policies, corporate culture, or public brand? How might these things influence company decisionmakers’ choices? 

Systemic Influences (one paragraph): What big-picture social, political, legal, or economic factors might influence the company’s decisionmakers?

5. MODELS

– Utilitarian Model (one paragraph): What action will lead to the greatest good for the greatest number of people, short-term and long-term?

– Deontology/Human Rights Model (one paragraph): 

     -Will this action protect, or, alternatively, violate someone’s human rights? Which human rights? (Refer to the “List of Human Rights” in Content)

    -What is the intent behind this decision? Do you think the decisionmakers would be making this decision for the right reason (to protect/promote human rights)?

6. CONCLUSION (one paragraph): Analyze this situation from your own personal perspective. How do you think the company’s decisionmakers would resolve this issue? How does that decision sit with you? Would you want the outcome to be different? Why? How would you choose to resolve the issue, if you were the one in charge? 

LENGTH AND FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS

As with the first written assignment, you have to write in complete sentences, but you are allowed to use bullet points as long as they are written as complete sentences. Please label each section. 

To receive the full 10 points of credit, you will need to write at least 5 pages, double spaced, Times New Roman, 12 point font, normal margins.