Book excerpt: Legal and ethical issues have become a standard part of engineering and business schools' curricula. This has not been the case for computer science or management information systems programs, although there has been increasing emphasis on the social skills of these students. This leaves a frightening void in their professional development. Information systems pose unique social challenges, especially for technical professionals who have been taught to think in terms of logic, structures and flows. Social, Ethical and Policy Implications of Information Technology focuses on the human impact of information systems, including ethical challenges, social implications, legal issues, and unintended costs and consequences.