Privacy

Careful, your data is being collected!

Computing innovations, such as smartphones, collect information and data from their users and then use that data to accomplish tasks. In some cases those tasks may be obvious and part of the intended purpose of the innovation. In other cases, those tasks might be less obvious or even hidden from us. Watch the video below which explains that our Personally Identifiable Information (PII) to be recorded and used.

Impacts of CS Privacy Intro - Video

Impacts of CS Privacy Intro - Slides

Impacts of CS: Privacy

HIPAA: Your Health Information, Your Rights

How is your data being used and are you concerned?

Disparate personal data, such as geolocation, cookies, and browsing history, can be aggregated to create knowledge about an individual. PII and other information stored online can be used to enhance a user’s online experiences and to simplify making online purchases. You may have seen targeted ads when browsing the web. Targeted ads are ads specific to you based on your browsing and purchase history. They are being used by stores (as shown in the NY times video) and by websites for internet advertising.

Discussion: Watch the video to the below on Retailer's Predictions from the New York Times. Then, take a look at a receipt from Target and the data available on it. Consider the following questions to help you understand how companies like Target collect information on buying habits:

What data is included on the receipt?
How might this data reveal demographics, personal life details, and other information about the consumer?
Is it different if you pay for purchases with cash vs a credit or debit card?
Is it different if you purchase items in the brick-and-mortar store or the online store?

Activity: Data Types and Data Collection

First, we need to understand the various types of data and how it is collected from us. Some examples of data types are integers, numbers, booleans, text, image, video, audio, and signals. Data can also infer these types, such as fingerprints, temperature, music, length, pictures, etc. Data is gathered by data collection devices (e.g., keyboards, sensors, cameras, etc.).

Complete the Data Types and Data Collection section in the AnswerDoc with some examples of your own. When you’re done, this document can be used as a reference sheet for the remainder of this lesson.

Activity: Classifying Data

Earlier you learned about what a computing innovation is and discussed some examples. You also learned about input and output. Now that you know what a computing innovation is and the kinds of data that can be collected, you can determine what data is collected by specific computing innovations. Complete the Classifying Data section in the AnswerDoc: identify the data used by the listed computing innovations and then classify the data as input or output. When you are finished, compare your answers with a classmate.

Input Process Output Storage: Computing innovations involve data which can be used in different ways. Some data is considered input while other data is considered output. An Input Processing Output Storage (IPOS) Structure Chart helps to classify data and see how that data is being used as input, then processed by a program to give an output to the user, and also how that data is stored.

Exercise: Can you draw, label, and explain the scenario of having to type a paper for a class using an IPOS structure chart?

Data Concerns

The collection of our data raises a variety of concerns involving data privacy, data security, and data storage. For example, commercial and governmental curation of information may be exploited if privacy and other protections are ignored. Having a website collect and remember your login information, for example, may be convenient because it saves you time, but it also comes with risks and concerns:

Data Privacy - assures that personal information (and sometimes corporate confidential information as well) are collected, processed (used), protected and destroyed legally and fairly.
Data Security - controls access to personal information and protects against its unauthorized use and acquisition.
Data Storage - how you archive your data. The two types of storage are hard data (RAM, Hard Drive, flash drives, solid state) and remote data (cloud computing) - Techopedia

Activity: Collecting Data

The About My Info website (aboutmyinfo.org) asks for personal data to determine how easily identifiable someone is from their data. Data such as this is often used by doctors and schools. Explore the About My Info website and then explore the privacy policy for your favorite social media site. As you explore, record your findings and answer the questions on the Collecting Data section in the AnswerDoc

Let's take a look at the kind of data collected by various mobile apps and services. Examine the Snapchat Privacy Center. What data does Snapchat collect from you? What data is required and what data can you opt out of? How does Snapchat use the data it collects? Is your data stored permanently or can it be deleted from Snapchat?

Which of the categories below best describes your overall comfort with using data to drive innovations or ensure security? Write a paragraph below explaining your response and tying it to either the information in this page or discussions shared in class.

Totally Comfortable: "Have my data! It makes the technology I love work and keeps me safe!"
Mostly Comfortable: "I want tech innovations and stronger security. Let's make sure we take care of the most damaging privacy concerns."
Mixed: "There's a lot of this that makes me uncomfortable, but I'm still going to use technology."
Mostly Uncomfortable: "Privacy is more important than empowering innovations or ensuring security. I would give up on some tech innovations to ensure my privacy"
Totally Uncomfortable: "I'd give up most technology and would like to see much stronger limits on what kind of data can be collected and stored, even if it limits the introduction of new technology"

Still Curious?

Read up on other ways that data is collected and used:

Learn more about how you can keep your data private.
Learn more about cookies and how they are used to track you on the websites you visit. This video from The Guardian also does a nice job explaining how cookies are used.
Learn more about targeted web ads and adblockers (TClark hint: always use uBlock Origin Lite).
Learn more about voter data and what's private and public information. Here's an example of Minnesota's public voter list information and the US Election Project has information on all 50 states.
Snapchat's new SnapMap feature is of concern to many parents of children who may not understand how their information is being used. Read more about SnapMap and the privacy concerns it raises from The Guardian and The Verge.

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