Evening Ethics: Social policy or an ethical issue?

Much of what appears in the news seems to have an ethical element. Take surveillance of individuals using license plate readers. What is the policy one supports around surveillance? More? Less? This is where an ethical element arises. Is the issue one of privacy? Personal safety? Public safety? What is more important to each of us?
What is the difference between public policy and ethics?

Consider other issues in the news and bring them to this discussion of the difference between social policy and ethics.

Here is a quote from Dr. Matruprasad Mishra: quora.com
Policies pursued by the Government or different Corporates are based on statutes or law of the land. However, ethics is based on value system pursued by the people in a society. It also depends on cultural standards. It depends on morality or norms about right and wrong human conduct. It also depends on duties either self-imposed or imposed by others.
Ethics is a systematic and reflective consideration of our moral beliefs and practices. Law doesn't cover all rights, all ethics, on the other hand it is based on minimum ethics. Ethical norms are more informal than laws. Peaceful civil disobedience is an ethical way of expressing opposing political viewpoints. It disobeys current law or policy pursued by the existing Government. Gandhiji disobeyed salt law in a peaceful manner, but it was inconsistent with the British law or policies pursued by them. Civil disobedience was ethical but not legal or in consistent with the policies of the Government.
In research domain ethical principles are used in its application. Atom bomb, environmental destruction, germ warfare, genetic engineering have intensified discussion on ethics in the process of research in natural sciences. However the Government of the day may not pursue policies which may be ethical particularly in times of war and International Trade based on autarchy.
Ethical standards promote values that are essential to collaborative work such as trust, accountability, mutual respect and fairness. For example authorship, copyright and patenting policies, data sharing policies and confidentiality rules in peer review are designed to protect intellectual property interests while encouraging collaboration. Here ethics and policies pursued by the law enforcement agencies are consistent.
We can conclude that all policies pursued by the Government may not be ethical but it should be based on ethics. Ethics is much broader in its application than policies pursued by the Government or other Corporates and Academic institutions.

A virtual discussion on an issue related to ethics.

We decide the topic together, if we can, so bring ideas from your life, the news, or history, something that relates to ethical choices.

Please be prepared to have your camera on, a requirement of attending this virtual meeting.

Passcode is ethics.