Social Issues in Information Technology

Privacy and Personal Information

Impact on computer technology

Key Aspects of Privacy
• Freedom from intrusion (being left alone)
• Control of information about oneself
• Freedom from surveillance (from being tracked, followed, watched)


Privacy threats come in several categories:
• Intentional, institutional uses of personal information
• Unauthorized use or release by “insiders”
• Theft of information
• Unintentional leakage of information
• Our own actions

MANAGING PERSONAL DATA
• Personal Information
• Informed Consent
• Invisible Information Gathering
• Cookies
• Secondary Use
• Data Mining
• Computer Matching
• Computer Profiling
• Opt out
• Opt in

Marketing & Personalization
• Transaction online
• Advertisement

Tools for parents
• Education
• Navigation
• Child’s activities

Privacy risks,
protecting privacy &
communications privacy

Social & personal activity
• Networking
• Time management
• Social skills

Risk to individual : Privacy, loss, damage, misuse or abuse personal information.

Risk to organization : perceived harm to privacy, a failure to meet public expectations, collapse of a project or completed system and others

Risk of New Technology

• Video Surveillance & Face Recognition

• Smartphone & Laptops

• Search Query Data

Computer Errors & Failure

Computer-related mistake
Causes
• Failure by users to follow proper procedures
• Unclear expectations and a lack of feedback
• Program development that contains errors
• Incorrect data entry by data-entry clerk

Errors in computer system
Data-related errors
• Erroneous information in databases
• Misinterpretation of database information
Software errors
System failures

Effects of computer errors
• Inconvenience
• Financial loses
• Fatalities