Vtech Data Breach Case Study

VTech, the company, is a direct stakeholder of this information issue of children privacy getting compromised as a result of the data breach. VTech strives to provide innovation through technology. This is resonated in their mission statement which says, “To design, manufacture and supply innovative, high quality products that minimize any impact on the environment, while creating sustainable value for our stakeholders and communities” (VTech Holdings Limited, n.d.). While the mission statement guarantees sustainable values, the data breach incident raises serious questions about the ethical principle of the company, as even personally identifiable information of the children were collected, even when restricted to do so by the law. This shows that the vested commercial interest of the company differentiates them from the other key stakeholders of the issue, the parents and the regulating authority, who value the privacy and security of the children. …show more content…
Thus, the users have an expectation of guaranteed privacy and security from the company. As Tard Schwartz, presidents and CEO of Schwartz Media Strategies promptly says, “Consumers are entitled to even loftier expectations when the privacy of children is involved. If a business is going to collect information about minors, let alone a company driven by technology, then security must be priority number one” (Dipietro, 2015). The data breach incident reinforces the need of a robust security system. As experts suggest, information like children data should be handled similarly to that of other sensitive information like credit card information and social security numbers. While, the company is working on renewing its security policies, the government is investigating the issue and may impose heavy fines under COPPA, if proven