In this paper we position a perspective for exploring ethical issues in the context of social media which we conceptualise as an instance of an information system (IS) artefact. We follow a general systems theory-informed view of the IS artefact (and hence social media), constituted by social, technology and information components. Information is placed at the nexus of the social and technology subsystems and positioned at the centre of moral claims. Differences between distinguishing characteristics of social media and IS artefacts that preceded its development and use raise new ethical issues and call into question the efficacy of applied ethics concepts in use in the IS field of study to effectively address these. We submit that new perspectives are needed for research exploring ethical issues associated with social media
