Ethics in Technical Communication

What is ethics? Do we find some fixed formula for deciding what is ethical and what is not? How about ethics in technical communication? Why should technical communicators be held ethically responsible for the consequences of the use of technology or any products? Is ethics universal?
We can ask several questions about rhetoric. But as Dombrowski says, we won't find any clear and fixed answers to them. This is primarily because ethics deals with values, which are not subjects of scientific inquiry and experimentation. Ethical questions are largely controversial and contextual. It is both individual and social.
How about ethics in technical communication? The notion of ethics in technical communication is fairly recent phenomenon. This is primarily because of the way technical communication was defined and understood. In the past, perhaps till 1980s, technical communication was defined in mechanistic terms as a tool of transmitting information. So, the focus of it was only on getting the message across without any intermediate distortion. So, the theorists of technical communication and general public understood it in terms of windowpane theory. So, "the ethical responsibilities involved in technical communication from this perspective are fairly clear and narrow: They are simply to relay faithfully information between transmitter and receiver." So, ethical responsibility goes to the producers or consumers of technology.
But in recent years, the way technical communication has been defined has changed significantly. Now, it is seen from rhetorical perspective. It is presentation of information to fulfill the needs of particular audience in a specific context. So, the job of technical communicator has become more creative and complex. Hence, the responsibility is also greater. Technical communicator has the responsibility to consider the broad influence of technology and the information he/she creates to the society at large.