How Protests in China Spotlight the Ethics of Buying Smartphones
Workers at iPhone manufacturing plants in China are protesting poor working conditions.
"One of the basic principles underlying human rights is that no one ought to be treated merely as a means to some end," Sarah Cabral, a business ethics scholar at Santa Clara University's Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, told Lifewire in an email interview. "In simplified terms, it is morally wrong to use people. Therefore, Foxconn and, by extension, Apple executives act unethically if they use factory workers to their own advantage and fail to respect the inherent freedom and dignity due each person."
A practical moral response to recent events involving smartphone makers is to hold off on upgrading your phone, Cabral said. She also suggested users show empathy for Foxconn employees by posting on social media.
Sarah Cabral, senior scholar in business ethics, quoted by Lifewire.