ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses a number of basic principles in relation to both ethical and legal issues for both geospatial science and land management. In the field of land management, ethical and legal at stake concern the authenticity and legality of the (land related) information itself, the possible risks associated with improper use of the information and the sensitivities and negative social connotations. These risks include privacy infringement, unintended or unknown surveillance, concious and unconscious discrimination (as a result of spatial profiling). For surveillance of human behaviour there are certain circumstances which make surveillance a moral and ethical issue. The ethical fundaments in these countries are both based on moral principles of utilitarianism and consequentialism, yet the practical policies are emphasizing enhanced transparency, openness, trust, accountability, and legality of (land) information developed by geospatial technologies.
