Portfolio Reflection Questions
Make a copy of this document in your Portfolio Assignments folder and answer these questions in the spaces below. Once complete, turn in this assignment according to the steps given by your teacher.
4.11 Impacts of CS: Privacy Curriculum Page
Read Blown to Bits Chapter 2 and answer these questions. You can revise your answers after we discuss this reading in class or in the forum.
1. Is it possible to identify someone, perhaps a patient, knowing just the gender, birth date, and zip code? Why or why not?
It is possible to identify someone, such as a patient, knowing his or her gender, birth date, and zip code. This is due to the fact that the normal zip code has very few of people with the same birthdays and gender, meaning if you narrow the search down using a small single area such as a zip code, get rid of an entire gender population, and look strictly on the specific birthday you will get only a few results.
2. Are electronic documents like paper documents? Write 2-3 sentences comparing and contrasting them.
Paper documents, such as notes in your file at your doctor’s office, used to only be in one place. They were only shared with other doctors or offices with your permission to help with your medical care. Documents are no longer just paper. Those documents are now electronic in most offices and are easily shared with other doctors or offices. Not only that, they are shared with the entire network that you are part of. So your medical information can be easily accessed by any physician, or other medical entities, that wish to look up your information. Documents that are paper are not as easily edited and shared because they are physical, not digital.
3. Earlier in the course, you built the Map Tour app. In the final version, what kind of data is collected from the user? Does the user know the data is being collected? Can they opt out of providing data and still use the app?
The app collects data about their location and the user is aware of this. For an application that depends on the user's location to be useful, the user cannot opt out of the data being collected unless they change the permissions on their device.
4. Is the Privacy Act effective? Explain why or why not.
To a certain extent the Privacy Act protects citizens right to privacy, however there are multiple exemptions to the law as well as other laws superseding it that make the law less effective in protecting the rights of internet users.
5. Are you willing to trade some of your privacy for the convenience of having a computer or a company recommend products to you? Why or why not? Under what circumstances?
Yes, but this is conditional depending on if my privacy is protected and the data i share is used only for purposes that i have approved of. If companies go ahead and share whatever data they want, then i don't support giving up my privacy.
6. How do we leave digital "footprints and fingerprints?" Do you think this is important for everyone to know? Why or why not?
Whenever we go to websites we are leaving something behind on that website that can be traced back to us. This important to know because some people view things that they wouldn't want coming back to them and what people use or view can be used as evidence in court.
7. How have social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, etc. affected our privacy?
Social media only affects our privacy if we allow it to. People will share information about themselves as they please and it is up to them to decide what they want to share and what they want to keep private. Once people put something on the internet, it will always be there.
8. In this course, you are building apps that collect data from users, the device, and its sensors. What responsibilities do we have as app developers for the data we collect?
To keep any information provided by the user private and undisclosed. If the user does not consent to their data being shared, then their data shall not be shared as not to intrude.
9. Search the web for a recent news story that deals with privacy. Write a paragraph summarizing the article, including any beneficial or harmful impacts on privacy.
A privacy bug was discovered in Google's Home device and in response to the discovery Google has removed the feature. The top touch button would enable the device to record the users commands and then perform them. Some units would record at random times and send the recorded audio to Google servers. This negatively impacted googe in that people do not trust the google home. Speculations are also being made around the Amazon Alexa.