Case Scenario C — TechPulse Data-Privacy DilemmaTechPulse In…
Case Scenario C — TechPulse Data-Privacy DilemmaTechPulse Inc. is a mid-sized software company that recently discovered its flagship analytics platform inadvertently collects sensitive personal health information from users who did not consent to that collection. Legal counsel confirms the practice is prohibited in some states but not others, with federal legislation pending. The marketing team views the data as commercially valuable and proposes selling it to pharmaceutical partners for targeted advertising. The CEO is under investor pressure to raise quarterly revenue. Several employees have raised ethical concerns internally and been told to ‘focus on the bottom line,’ and a whistleblower has signaled she may contact regulators if the company proceeds.Applying a utilitarian framework, how would an ethicist most likely evaluate the plan to sell user health data?