UNIT 3

CHAPTER 9

IMPLICATIONS OF
DIGITAL
TECHNOLOGIES
 IMPLICATIONS OF DIGITAL
TECHNOLOGIES
• Their implications of Digital technologies and how they are used will
determine whether their use helps to build a better society.
• The use of digital technologies has changed the way in which people
share and use information, images, music and films.
• It has introduced new challenges relating to protecting the rights of
individuals while also protecting communities from harm.
• It forces society to rethink and question the concepts of ownership,
privacy, identity, censorship and control.
• It can provide new ways of improving people's health and safety,
while at the same time it can put people’s health and safety at risk.
 DATA PROTECTION
• Some countries have laws to ensure that, when data is
stored about individuals, that data is protected.
Example:
In Singapore, the Personal Data Protection Act ensures
that organisations must:
o have an individual's consent to use or disclose personal data
o collect, use or disclose personal data in an appropriate manner for the
circumstances and must have informed the individual of their purposes
o collect, use or disclose personal data only for purposes that would be
considered appropriate to a reasonable person in the given circumstances.
 DATA PROTECTION
Example
In the UK, the law called the Data Protection Act means that
organisations who are responsible for using data have to follow rules
(protection principles) that they must make sure that the information
is:
o used fairly and lawfully
o used for limited, specifically stated
o used in a way that is adequate, relevant and not excessive
o accurate
o kept for no longer than is absolutely necessary
o handled according to people's data protection rights
o kept safe and secure
o not transferred outside the European Economic Area without adequate protection
Under the Data Protection Act, individuals whose data is stored by organisations have the right to:
o access a copy of the information comprised of their personal data
o object to data processing that is likely to cause or is causing damage or distress to the individual
o prevent processing for direct marketing, such as being sent newsletters or emails
o to decisions that are taken by automated means
o have inaccurate personal data rectified, blocked, erased or destroyed in certain circumstances
o claim compensation for damages caused by a breach of the Act.
 DATA PROTECTION
Some countries have international agreements that mean that data can be transferred
between countries in the knowledge that they will receive adequate protection.
One example of this is the EU-US Privacy Shield Framework, which aims to ensure that
data is when it is transferred between the United States of America and countries in the
European Union (EU). This is important for American companies like Microsoft, Amazon,
Twitter and Google, all of which have large data storage centres in the Republic of Ireland.
 COPYRIGHT LEGISLATION
• Copyright is a legal power that provides the creator of an original work with the sole
authority to use and distribute it.
• Individual countries have their own laws relating to copyright, and individuals and
organisations must obey the laws of the countries in which they operate.
• Some have agreements to stop a publisher stealing work from an author in one country and
publishing it in another country.
• Just like international data protection agreements, international copyright agreements are
increasingly important as business becomes more international, partly thanks to the internet.
• When a user downloads original work such as software, books, music, images or videos, the
work that they download may protected by copyright.
• If they live in a country with copyright laws, or a country that is part of an intemational
agreement, then using someone else's work without permission could result in the user
facing legal action from the work's copyright owner.
• Copyright owners can choose to distribute their works under licences that users must pay
for, such as when buying a music track or an app from an online store.
• Copyright owners can also choose to distribute their works under free licences such as open
source or Creative Commons licences, which allow the owner to distribute their work
without payment and say how their work can be used.
COPYRIGHT LEGISLATION
 COPYRIGHT LEGISLATION
• When a customer pays for apps, books, music, images or videos, they pay for the
right to use them, but this does not usually also include the right to distribute them to
others.
• Exemption from copyright applies in some situations.
• Example, fair use
o such as copies of books or documents, made by libraries,
o educational establishments, museums or archives
o recordings of broadcasts for archive purposes
o uses for the benefit of people with a disability
o for non-commercial research or private study
o when used in parody.
• In order to check that copyright law is not being broken, owners of digital works can
protect their work by using copy protection and digital rights management (DRM).
• These systems are designed to check that the device on which the work is opened is
allowed to open it. (music files that are downloaded using Apple ITunes are often
protected with DRM)
• Geoblocking is limiting access to internet content on the user’s location (often used
to prevent online users from accessing digital content)
 MONITORING INDIVIDUALS
• Digital technologies can be used to monitor individuals.
o Movements
• CCTV (sometimes with face recognition)
• Auto Number Plate Recognition
• Monitoring the use of ID, Passport or bank cards
• Identifiying devices on network
• Using GPS data (shared by apps)
• GPS trackers
o Communications : There are many ways in which individuals' communication can be monitored.
• parents can use parental control software to monitor their children's online activity and use of
applications.
• Text messages, emails, on social networking sites, comments on blogs and web histories are just a
few examples of communications that can be monitored and recorded.
• In the UK, the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 allows the police to access these kinds of digital
communication.
• This law is controversial and human rights organisations have concerns about the use of powers.
 MONITORING INDIVIDUALS
There are benefits to monitoring individuals' movements, such as being able to:
• find people who are lost
• locate nearby friends
• identify people on networks
• identify and locate criminals and potential criminals
• verify individuals for financial transactions in order to reduce financial
crime.
However, there are also drawbacks to monitoring individuals' movements, such
as:
• compromising people's privacy
• the expense of setting up, monitoring and maintaining systems
• the energy consumption of the systems and
the effect on the environment
• making people feel as though they are
not trusted.
 SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES
• The use of ICT can negatively affect the environment.
• Table below shows three ways in which the use of ICT can cause
sustainability issues and lists some of the ways in which the effects of
these can be mitigated.
Facebook built this
data centre in
northern Sweden so
that it is cooled by
Sweden’s cold
climate rather than
an air conditioning
system
HEALTH AND SAFETY ISSUES
HEALTH AND SAFETY ISSUES
HEALTH AND SAFETY ISSUES
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
As we increase the number of decisions that technology makes for
us, we reduce the control that we have over important decisions
that can have an impact on our health and safety. For example, AI
is now used in self-driving cars and it can make decisions about
whether the car should apply the brakes if it is likely to crash into
the car ahead, or whether it should swerve to avoid another
vehicle. These cars can use sensors to detect whether the car is
crossing a lane divider in the road in order to prevent the car
drifting into the wrong lane. AI can also read speed limit signs,
adjusting the car's speed.
These are all useful tools. However, these A1 systems do not have
human judgment and cannot apply common sense. Consider the
following situations.
• What if a car needs to travel over the speed limit to avoid a
hazard? Would AI prevent the car from doing this if it was also
supposed to stay under the speed limit?
• What if a car had to swerve to avoid another vehicle, but in
doing so veers off the road and into a pedestrian? What would
AI decide to do in that situation? Who will be responsible?
 CHAPTER QUESTIONS
1. Which one of these is used to reduce the risk to health and safety?
A. Using a small monitor
B. Increasing the amount of blue light emitted by a screen
C. Using an RCD
D. Working in a room with low-level lighting
2. Explain why free software licences have to reduce the digital divide.
3. Explain why users should be able to give their consent before an app shares their
location.
4. State three types of digital information that can be protected by copyright.
5. State one method of monitoring an individual's movements and describe how it is used.
6. Explain why owners of digital information may decide to use
7. State one benefit to individuals of having their location monitored.
8. State one benefit to individuals of having their communications monitored.
9. State one drawback to individuals of monitoring their location and communications.
10. State three ways in which organisations should act responsibly to make sure that they
protect the data they hold about individuals.
11. Explain why the large-scale use of online storage and applications can have a negative
effect on the environment.
12. Describe one way in which individuals can reduce the effect of their use of digital
devices on the environment.