← VCE Data Analysis

Ethical issue: ownership and control of data

Who has the right to hold, change, share and delete data about a person or topic. An organisation may hold the data, but the person it describes should keep some control.

Part of: VCE Applied Computing - U1O1 - Data analysis — Module 51, VCE Software Development - U3O2 - Analysis and Design — Module 57, ACARA Digital Technologies Years 9–10 — Acquiring and Validating Data — Module 49, QCE Digital Solutions Unit 2 — Data-Driven Problems and Solution Requirements — Module 120, QCE Digital Solutions Unit 4 — Prototype Digital Data Exchanges — Module 122, WA Computer Science ATAR Year 11 — Data Management — Module 114

Understanding Ethical issue: ownership and control of data in VCE Data Analysis

What it does: Changing a record at the person's request shows the individual using control over their own data. The UPDATE statement is the change. Control means you can ask for data to be corrected or deleted. Allowing unlimited sharing gives control away. The individual the data describes is the data owner in this sense. The server is just where the data is held. An organisation storing records is the data holder. The ownership and control question is whether the people the data describes still keep a say. Holding data does not give an organisation the right to share it. The fix is to get consent from the customers or not share the list.

Common mistakes: The owner is the person the data describes, which is the student. The school is only the holder. It should be: owner ← student. Only the person the data describes (the owner) should be given access to their data. A stranger should be refused. It should be: IF person is the owner THEN.

Class: _____________________  ·  Name: _____________________  ·  Date: _________

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This module's key terms are also in a printable crossword (Modules 38–54) and word search (Modules 25–54).

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Learning
Duo
Your school stores your name, address and grades in its student system. Who is the data holder?
The school, because it holds and manages the dataYou, because the data is about you
Matches
A shop sells a customer's email list to another company without asking the customers
↓
The shop is only the data holder, so it has no right to share the data without permission from the people it describes
Applying
Meanings
Term
Ownership and control of data
Meaning
Who has the right to hold, change, share and delete data about a person or topic. An organisation may hold the data, but the person it describes should keep some control.
Practice
owner <- person
Testing
Gaps
The is the person the data describes
Check Answer
Spots
1data ← student health record
2owner ← school

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Quick Questions

1. Your school stores your name, address and grades in its student system. Who is the data holder?
A. You, because the data is about you
B. The school, because it holds and manages the data ✓
The data holder is the organisation that stores and manages the data. You are the person the data describes, and you may still have rights over it.
2. Which statement best describes ownership and control of data?
A. Who has the right to hold, change, share and delete data ✓
B. How fast data can be copied between devices
Ownership and control is about rights over data: holding, changing, sharing and deleting it. It is not about speed or storage.
3. An app holds your personal details. Which action shows you keeping control of your own data?
A. Letting the app share your details with anyone it likes
B. Asking the app to correct or delete your details ✓
Control means you can ask for data to be corrected or deleted. Allowing unlimited sharing gives control away.
4. True or false: if an organisation holds data about you, it automatically has the right to do whatever it wants with it.
A. False ✓
B. True
Holding data does not mean unlimited rights. The person it describes should keep some control, and laws like the Privacy Act 1988 limit how it is used.
5. A company collected your email to send a receipt, then sold it to advertisers without asking. What is the ethical problem?
A. The company ignored your control over how your data is shared ✓
B. The company stored your email in a database
Storing data for a clear purpose is fine. Sharing it without your permission removes your control over it.

Match the Pairs

Data owner → The person or group the data describes, who keeps rights over how it is used
Data holder → An organisation that stores and manages data about people but does not fully own it
Individual control over own data: a person asks an organisation to fix wrong details about them → UPDATE students SET phone = '0412345678' WHERE id = 7;
Organisations holding data: a company must remove a person's record when it no longer needs it → DELETE FROM customers WHERE id = 42;
A shop sells a customer's email list to another company without asking the customers → The shop is only the data holder, so it has no right to share the data without permission from the people it describes
A student asks a club to delete their details, but the club says 'We hold it, so we own it' and refuses → Holding data is not the same as owning it, so the person it describes should keep some control, including a request to delete it

Key Term

Ownership and control of data
Who has the right to hold, change, share and delete data about a person or topic. An organisation may hold the data, but the person it describes should keep some control.

Fill in the Blanks

1. The owner is the person the data describes
Hint: Type the term for the person the data is about
2. Individuals can correct their own data
Hint: Type the action a person can take to fix wrong details held about them
3. IF permission = FALSE THEN DISPLAY "Do not share the data" END IF
Hint: Type the Boolean value that means the owner has not given permission
4. A school storing student data is the holder
Hint: Type the term for an organisation that keeps data about other people
5. Control: hold, change, share and delete
Hint: Type the action that sends data to other people or organisations

Spot the Error

Question 1
A data ← student health record
B owner ← school
C holder ← school
D holder must protect the data
Line B — The owner is the person the data describes, which is the student. The school is only the holder. It should be: owner ← student.
Question 2
A request ← access to data
B IF person is a stranger THEN
C organisation gives a copy
D ELSE refuse request
Line B — Only the person the data describes (the owner) should be given access to their data. A stranger should be refused. It should be: IF person is the owner THEN.
Question 3
A app collects location data
B user ← asked for consent
C IF consent = FALSE THEN
D share data with partner
Line C — Data should only be shared when the user has given consent, so the condition must test for TRUE. It should be: IF consent = TRUE THEN.
Question 4
A person ← Sam
B record ← Sam's address
C IF address correct THEN
D Sam can request correction
Line C — Individuals control their own data, so they can ask for corrections when the data is wrong, not when it is correct. It should be: IF address wrong THEN.
Question 5
A owner ← company storing data
B holder ← company storing data
C holder respects owner rights
Line A — The owner is the person the data is about. The company storing the data is the holder. It should be: owner ← person described.

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