Ethical Issues

Identifying Ethical Issues in our Software

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Ethical Concerns:

Are users' privacy expectations met by our software?

Yes, we only collect users' phone numbers, which are securely handled through Firebase.

Users may include social media handles in their profile description, but it is not collected as information on sign-up.

Optional information is not collected unless a user provides such personal information like their last name, university, etc.

Users are also able to delete their accounts.

GPS location is based strictly on a general city area ~30-mile radius, so no addresses or coordinate location is used.

• Might switch to region-based (i.e., New England, Southeast, Mid-Atlantic) and time zones.

Could the use of our software result in racial, gender, religious, or any other type of discrimination? How do we mitigate this problem within our software?

Users are able to match with others based on gaming habits rather than personal identity. However, we understand that harassment of one's personal identity may still occur, as it is a random/live chat app. We will do the following to prevent it:

• Demographic filter --> For safety reasons, there is an optional filter that allows users to match only with individuals of the same gender.

• Report feature --> Users reported for abusive or offensive behavior (including but not limited to racism, homophobia, sexual harassment, etc.) will be banned from the platform. As there is only one phone number per account, this ban is permanent. Each report will be reviewed, and consequences will be based on the individual case.

• Chat filter --> We will filter our messaging system to prevent certain words from being sent in messages. Discriminatory and violent words will be flagged; the message will be deleted and linked to the account sending the messages.

• Algorithm --> Users will have a safety rating based on potential flags or reports from previous interactions.

• Block/Unadd Feature --> Users can unadd or block other users.

Can our software be abused by some users to cause harm to other users? To the public at large? How do we mitigate these problems?

Our software has potential for misuse by certain individuals which include but are not limited to:

• Cyberstalking
• Cyberbullying
• Verbal Abuse or Harassment
• Sexual Harassment

We have several ways to mitigate such behavior:

First, users can choose to match only with individuals of the same gender if they wish. Next, users can block and report others for offensive or abusive conduct. Finally, we will permanently ban users who engage in such behavior and, when required by law, provide relevant information to law enforcement.