Workshop Activity 01

Subject Code: DATA4300

Subject Name: Data Security and Ethics
Topic: Topic 1

Workshop Activity 1: Ever thought about your data self?

Watch the video on Dan and his data self

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNAiokZ20PU

Instructions:
• Imagine your data self, made up of many pieces of
data, some of which has been shared.
• Given 30 seconds, write down the names of as
many pieces of an individual’s data (personal) that
you can think of that could be used by others, e.g.
name, car registration……
• Let’s see who has the longest list
No solution.

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Workshop Activity 2: Student Poll

• Consider this chart for consumers and brokers.

1. VOTE 1: For those brokers who spend all day collecting the data, do you think $79 for a
list of 1000 people with a given health condition is fair payment? (y/n) Why?

No right or wrong answers:

$79 is not a lot of money, unless this data is easy to collect

2. VOTE 2: Do you think it ethical to pass on the data of those with a health condition? (y/n) Why?

No right or wrong answers:

It doesn’t seem ethical to pass on the data of disadvantaged people

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 3. VOTE 3: Do you think $100 per month for doing surveys easy money for a consumer? (y/n) Why?

No right or wrong answers:

Depends how long and how many surveys, it looks like easy extra cash

Workshop Activity 3: Gaining information via connection with other data selves

• In view of this and other online interactions, is

Dan’s data self more information rich than he
thought?
• Watch this video on how Facebook tracks your data
and that of others to gain information on you
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAO_3EvD3DY

1. How many data points is Facebook likely to use to build a profile on Dan?

Almost 100 data points

2. What is Facebook using Dan and his wife’s data for?

One of the main uses appears to be targeted advertising

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3. What is surprising about Facebooks “People you may know” feature
Facebook can use location data to suggest people you may know. Consequently, it may be a person that was also in the
doctor’s waiting room when you were there, or works in your building, or someone you were with but are not currently
friends
with on Facebook.

Workshop Activity 4: Ethical business model for Data sharing: Gov Data Bank

• Watch the video which proposes a more ethical

business model of rewarding individuals for sharing
data
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8kA-EZReA0
Form groups and answer the following:

1. What are you gaining by sharing data with Google?

Lots of, supposedly, free services

2. Once you use a service, who owns your data?

Google owns your data as part of the service agreement

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3. What analytics technique are Google attempting to use?

Data Mining

4. What is the ethical business model suggested in this video?

the idea of the “Data bank”, a Government regulated institution stores it and lends the data (via indirect access) to
companies
like Facebook, Twitter. In turn, the data bank gives you interest type payments (and may use blockchain in this process).
The companies may demand subscription fees and in that case you can use money from the interest payments (or not) to
subscribe.
In this model, everyone gets paid

Workshop Activity 5: Personal data at a glance

• Form groups & click on the link

https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-
protection/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-
regulation-gdpr/key-definitions/what-is-personal-data/
1. Read the What is personal data? ‘At a glance’
notes
2. Scroll down, click on and read the What is personal
data?

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Instructions: In groups

1. Describe features of personal data in your own words.

The idea of personal data relates to data which can identify you either by itself or by connecting it with other data
Even if the identifiers have been removed, data can still be considered personal data
It also seems to be tied to use and processing. Hence, what is personal depends on who has your data and how it has been
processed (either manually or automatically)

2. What features related to personal data on the ICO webpage are surprising to you and why?

Workshop Activity 6: Quick quiz

Q1. Using several identifiers unique to an individual to

link their information is called
A. Problematic linkage
B. Probabilistic linkage

C. Deterministic linkage

D. None of the above

Q2. The OAIC privacy act

A. allows you to know how much the information of others is worth
B. allows you to ask for access to your data