Privacy Generally

Category: When Analytics Works

The previous sections each raise their own issues, but all touch on the issue of privacy generally. "Ethical and privacy issues in learning analytics include the conditions for the collection or aggregation of data, informed consent, de-identification of data, transparency, data security, interpretation of data, as well as data classification and management" (Griffiths, et.al., 2016:6). But what is privacy, and how is it an ethical concern?

An Ontario court ruling states, "Personal privacy is about more than secrecy and confidentiality. Privacy is about being left alone by the state and not being liable to be called to account for anything and everything one does, says or thinks" (Cavoukian, 2013:18). We might say people should be able to live their lives in 'quiet enjoyment' of their possessions, property and relationships (Andresi, 2019).

Privacy is central to numerous statues and ethical codes. "It includes protection against unlawful interference with an individual's privacy, family, home or correspondence, and to unlawful attacks against his or her honor or reputation… the Human Rights Committee specifies that "the gathering and holding of personal information on computers, data banks and other devices, whether by public authorities or private individuals or bodies, must be regulated by law." (UC Berkeley, 2019)

But privacy is not unambiguously good. As Griffiths, et.al. (2016:5) note, "many employers take steps to be able to monitor all of their worker's Internet use. Employers can also buy software that enables them to rate their employees on the basis of their browsing history crosslinked with a database of thousands of web sites categorised as 'productive', 'unproductive' or 'neutral'." They believe that "because they own the computer, they have the right to read the e-mail it produces" (Ibid:5).

In many cases it may well be argued that people have a right to access data. Privacy protects the powerful, at the expense of the weaker. For example, Shelton (2017) argues that "limiting access to property (or any other kind of) data prevents any large scale analysis of these processes by citizens," thus "disempowering them by curtailing their ability to couch their claims in the necessary language of data." And there is little consensus on the scope of the issue or the remediation that is appropriate, as the analysis by Fjjeld, et.al. (2020:21) clearly shows.

Examples and Articles

Creating a Culture of Privacy
"All parents, guardians, and visitors to our school are reminded that the privacy of all our students must be maintained at all times. We are ultimately responsible for the safety and security of our students and the security and confidentiality of our studentsâ€™ personal information, including first and last names, images and any other identifying information." Westwood Public School, Guelph, Ontario. Direct Link

Apple's ad transparency policy has cost Facebook, YouTube, Snap almost $10 billion so far
The introduction of Apple's new App Tracking Transparency (ATT) policy which requires third-parties to gain user consent before collecting and sharing data has put a crimp in the revenue of some social media giants Direct Link

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