One recent issue that has emerged regarding online business practice is that of web search ”clean up”, whereby several Internet business that have accumulated either negative or questionable reviews over service, product quality, and outsource third-party services that specialize in eliminating any and all information that would make a particular company look bad. This practice, of course, has become a major controversy concerning ethics, and understandably so.
The argument is that such action merely serves to promote a positive image for the businesses in question. Persistent entrepreneurs go out of their way to make themselves appear squeaky-clean. This image, in their perspectives, ensures greater success because it continuously draws in high-level traffic. Traffic means better business, which in turn inspires confidence from shoppers who yearn for variety in merchandise and services. A company’s positive image can work for both the business and the shopper.
On the other hand, a concerned public, supported by various consumer agencies, claims that the motives behind the “cleaning up” process to be suspect. Such business practices suspiciously appear to cover up negative but crucial input that prospective customers need to know when evaluating a business. Such evaluations rely on the full disclosure of honest and truthful information—information that consumers have a right to know—and eliminating that information from public access does shoppers a disservice.
This is where the subject of ethics comes into play, not to mention legality.
Is eliminating such information deceptive or misrepresent businesses? Does such a practice benefit or hinder consumer research? Is it even legal?
The debate is still in progress, but several consumer protection agencies criticize the practice and have stepped into to stop businesses from conducting themselves from doing this. No legal stipulations seem to exist to restrict the practice, however, so no action can prevent such practices from flourishing. Proposals for legislation need to be passed in order to establish regulatory laws. The problem is that, since the Internet is not indigenous to any particular region, online businesses are not bound or subject to the laws of any legal system. Because no laws exist to define a state of illegality, businesses that conduct themselves in this way do not have an ethical dilemma. It’s as if ethics and law (or lack of it) are intertwined.
Whatever the case may be, the controversy rages on. In a consumer world—one that has created and caters to business needs—the problem is mute, since the practice in question is not likely to deter shoppers from calling on the services of or buying merchandise from companies, regardless of whether those companies are covering up missteps or operating on a completely open basis with the public. Big businesses likely know about and rely on this tendency, which is one reason they behave the way they do.
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