Lesson video

Hello, my name is Irfan and I'm going to be your computing teacher for this unit on the impact of technology.

I think it's a really great unit, because it helps us to understand the individual and the social implications of the technology that we use every day.

In this lesson, you will define key terms, privacy, legal, ethical, environmental, and cultural.

Understanding these key terms will enable you to look at real life scenarios and determine the key issues at hand.

Finally, we'll look at data legislation, in particular, the Data Protection Act and understand how our data is protected and for what reasons.

You can see that there is a headline and then some questions in the yellow box.

Take a moment to answer the questions on the worksheet provided.

What was lost? How did it happen? And what are the consequences of this happening? Pause the video to complete the task and resume when you're finished.

Great job finishing the task.

Let's go through the answers.

So the data that could have been lost would have mostly been personal data.

This would have included things like names, dates of birth, addresses, login details, and a whole range of other information that you might not want others to know about.

This could have also extended to exam information, so the grades you might've received or the grade you might be getting for an exam, as well as payment details, which schools collect for parents to pay for school lunches.

How this could have happened would have been the result of one of the only a few different things.

For example, an unsecured or vulnerable network, a malicious insider, so a person who has the intention to expose or access data without the permission of the organisation, or it could have been an outsider hacking into the school or the exam boards themselves directly.

The consequences of this, however, are that student data could be changed or deleted, the schools or the exam boards could be held to ransom, student work could be deleted or changed, and a range of other different consequences include things like identity theft, blackmail, and online grooming.

However, there are a range of other different answers you could have had as well.

This activity helps you to understand the different issues that are linked to something as simple as having your data being collected and stored by a school or an exam board.

In this next part of the lesson, we're going to be looking at defining the key terms that we are going to be using throughout this unit.

For this next task, you're going to define the key terms. On the worksheet provided, write a definition for each of the key terms below.

If you're stuck, you can use a dictionary, a textbook, or do an online search.

Pause the video to complete your task, and then resume when you're finished.

Great job on the task.

Let's go through the answers.

Privacy is the idea that once data has been put onto a computer, provided to organisations such as schools or through websites, it can easily be copied, shared, or manipulated.

We, though, have the right to choose how our data is used and what data is provided.

Legality refers to laws and legislation about how our data is used, as well as about how others can be held to account for its misuse.

Ethics refer to the considerations about what is right and what is wrong individually.

Cultural refers to how we as a society are impacted by technology.

Finally, environmental is about the effect that technology has on the world around us.

In this lesson, we will understand how technology impacts society in these different ways.

In this next part of the lesson, we're going to be applying the terms we've just looked at to real life examples.

Let's take a look.

There are many real life examples that can fit into at least one of the categories of impacts we've looked at in the previous part of our lesson.

What you're going to do now is you're going to look at the scenarios provided on the worksheet.

You're then going to match each scenario to at least one of the categories of impact, and then describe what that impact might be.

For task three, match the example to one of the categories of impact.

Then describe what the impact might be.

Pause the video now to complete your task and resume once you're finished.

Great job of completing the task.

Let's go through the answers.

So our first scenario is that hackers hit an A-list law firm with clients such as Lady Gaga, Drake and Madonna.

This is, of course, a legal impact, because the data was obtained without the permission of the clients or the law firm, and then security of the law firm servers were bypassed unlawfully.

The second scenario is that in 2017, China built a 250 acre solar farm shaped like a giant panda.

Now, although this seems quite random, this is, of course, an environmental impact.

This has because the generation of energy using renewable sources such as solar energy from the sun is used to power China's growing technology usage, and therefore prevents them from using as much non-renewable energy sources from things like fossil fuels.

Scenario three is digital technology is fueling a loneliness epidemic.

This is a cultural impact, because technology is used throughout our society.

However, a particular age group are disadvantaged by this potentially, as they may not have the resources or the know how to engage with it as other generations do.

The fourth scenario is about how artificial intelligence algorithms may bias potential groups based upon their gender or race.

These biases could disadvantage particular groups, whereas they could also advantage others.

This is of course an ethical issue as it has to do with whether this is morally right or wrong, as this is a decision the developers of these algorithms will need to consider.

The final scenario is that Apple Martin tells off Hollywood actress mother Gwyneth Paltrow for sharing her photo without consent.

This is a privacy issue because we would expect that anybody who would share our photo online would seek our consent first.

However, often parents don't do this.

They tend to forget they need to ask consent before they do this, particularly when sharing our photos on social networks, which are publicly accessible.

In this next part of the lesson, we're going to be looking at data legislation.

So what exactly are the laws relating to computers? There are several acts of Parliament which are particularly important for our study of the impact of technology.

These include the Data Protection Act, the Computer Misuse Act, the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, and the Freedom of Information Act.

The purpose of the Data Protection Act was to control how data is handled and to give legal rights to people who have their information stored about them.

You might have heard of GDPR.

This was the updated 2018 Data Protection Act, which introduced tightened and more specific laws surrounding the use of data.

The Data Protection Act is for everyone because we are all data subjects.

This means that we have the right to have our data properly looked after by the organisation to hold it, as well as the right, in many cases, to see our data.

This is known as the right of subject access.

Within companies and organisations themselves, there is a nominated data controller.

The data controller is responsible for ensuring that the organisations stay within the principles outlined in the Data Protection Act.

Externally, the Information Commissioner's Office or the ICO is there to ensure that companies and organisations keep to the rules and will impose fines for those who don't.

Sometimes these fines can be quite substantial.

For example, in 2019 British Airways were fined 183 million pounds because they failed to protect data, the data of its customers.

There are six principles of the Data Protection Act that you will need to understand.

One, personal data must be fairly and lawfully processed.

Two, personal data must be obtained for specified, explicit, and legitimate purposes.

This means that organisations need to be able to demonstrate why they need to collect your personal data.

Three, personal data must be adequate, relevant and not excessive.

This means organisations need to explain what data they need from you, and of course, the reason behind it.

Number four, personal data must be accurate and up to date.

This means that periodically organisations need to ask you your details or whether there've been any changes to your details since they originally captured your data.

Number five, personal data must not be kept any longer than necessary.

This is to say that after those records or bits of data they've collected are no longer useful or needed, they should be deleted or removed.

Number six, personal data must be handled in a way that ensure security.

This means safeguarding service and networks where data is stored to prevent hacking or unauthorised access.

Let's test your understanding of the Data Protection Act.

On the worksheet, decide whether each of these five statements is either true or false.

Pause the video to complete your task, and then resume when you're finished.

Great job on the task.

Let's go through the answers.

The first statement was the General Data Protection Act 2018 replaced the Data Protection Act 1998.

That was true.

The ICO is responsible for ensuring that the organisation sticks to the principles of the Data Protection Act.

So that again, is true.

Organisations can be fined for mishandling or the misuse of data.

This again, is true.

Personal data can be kept indefinitely.

This is false.

Organisations have a responsibility to only keep data as long as it's necessary.

Finally, it is the responsibility of an organisation to ensure that personal data is accurate and up to date.

This again, is true.

In this last part of the lesson, we're going to apply what we've learned about data protection to a scenario.

Sophia runs a music venue.

She intends to set up a new website, allowing customers to purchase tickets and sign up for a monthly newsletter about upcoming shows.

On the worksheet, you're going to be describing issues relating to data protection that Sophia, as the owner of the venue should consider.

Use each of the six principles of the Data Protection Act 2018 to help you describe the issues Sophia should consider relating to her customer's data.

Pause the video now to complete your task, and then resume once you've finished.

Great job on the task.

Let's go through the answers.

The first question is how will Sophia collect customer's data? This relates to the idea that data should be fairly and lawfully processed, so therefore, Sophia will need to ask permission from her customers to use their data, but should also ensure that the data is collected in an organised way and stored in an organised way, so that at any given time, she can fulfil a request of the customer to see the data that she holds on them.

The second question is what exactly will Sophia use her customer's data for? This relates to the principle that personal data must be obtained for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes.

So therefore, she needs to ask permission to use the customer's data in anything other than orders.

For example, for use in marketing.

The third question is what data will Sophia need to collect? This data will need to be adequate, relevant and not excessive.

So, Sophia will need to ensure that only data that is needed is collected.

The fourth question is how will Sophia ensure customers' data is up to date? This relates to the principle that personal data needs to be accurate and surprisingly, up to date.

This means that she will need to record any changes, including the name, title, and address changes that they might have.

The fifth question is how long will Sophia keep her customers' data for? This relates to the principle that personal data must not be kept any longer than is necessary.

So Sophia will need to consider whether it's the right thing to do, whether to keep customers' data past that point, and she will also need to notify her customers if she does intend to hold onto their data longer than is necessary.

The final question is how will Sophia protect her customers' data? This relates to the principle that personal data must be handled in a way that ensures security.

This means that Sophia will need to ensure that she keeps regular backups of data, that she reviews her security measures, and most importantly, that she prevents hacking and data theft through the use of security measures on her server or across her network.

Great work today.

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