Preview

The whole resource, exactly as a class sees it. Answers and marking are held back.

Digital impacts Depth 1: surveillance, automated decisions and privacy

This depth worksheet assumes the Essentials knowledge. It explores systems that collect data, monitor behaviour or make automated decisions. The challenge is not simply to label them “good” or “bad”, but to compare purposes, consequences and safeguards for different stakeholders.

You will examine:

facial recognition and movement tracking
workplace monitoring
automated moderation and decision making
accuracy, human review and proportionality
the difference between data security and a justified use of data

Use the scenario tasks to develop more than one stakeholder perspective, then complete the final challenge independently.

Five questions for a monitored system

When a system observes or evaluates people, ask:

Purpose: What problem is the monitoring meant to solve?
Data: What is collected, and is all of it necessary?
Accuracy: What happens when the system is wrong?
Power: Can the affected person understand, challenge or avoid the decision?
Protection: Who can access the data, and how long is it retained?

A safeguard should match the concern. Encryption can protect stored or transmitted data, while human review can reduce the risk of an automated error becoming a final decision. Neither one answers every ethical or privacy question.

Fill in the blanks5 marks

The stated reason for monitoring is its label 1. Collecting only what is needed supports data label 2. A person checking a disputed automated result provides label 3. Encryption improves data label 4, but does not by itself prove that collection is label 5.

human review
clock speed
copyright
necessary
security
minimisation
purpose

Multiple choice, several answers4 marks

Which four safeguard-to-concern links are reasonable? Select all that apply.

ADelete movement records when no longer needed: excessive retention
BAdd encryption: guarantees every automated decision is fair
CAllow a person to review a disputed match: consequences of an inaccurate result
DUse a faster processor: proves that monitoring is ethically justified
ECollect entry events instead of continuous movement: unnecessary data collection
FExplain the purpose and use clearly: lack of transparency

Four monitored environments

A. Shopping centre: Cameras use facial recognition to identify barred individuals and record visitors' movements between shops.

B. Delivery company: A phone reports each driver's location, speed and time at every stop. Managers use an automated score when allocating future shifts.

C. Social platform: Software examines user posts and automatically hides content predicted to break community rules.

D. Health insurer: Customers can submit fitness-watch data for a possible discount, but people without a compatible device cannot receive it.

The system operator, the person monitored and other members of the public may experience different consequences.

Written answer8 marks

Choose two of scenarios A to D. For each, explain one benefit and one concern affecting different stakeholders.

Use the exact data or automated action. Develop what changes for the organisation and for the person being monitored or assessed.

Students type their answer here.

From assertion to evaluation

Weak assertion:

Facial recognition is an invasion of privacy.

Developed point:

Recording every visitor's movement creates a detailed account of where identifiable people go, including people who are not suspected of wrongdoing. This may be disproportionate to the aim of identifying a small number of barred individuals, particularly if the records are retained.

Evaluation adds a counterweight:

However, matching a limited watchlist at entrances could improve safety with less data if non-matches are discarded promptly and disputed matches receive human review.

Evaluation does not mean reversing your opinion in every sentence. It means recognising conditions, limitations or a competing stakeholder interest.

Written answer8 marks

Evaluate the delivery company's use of location and stop data to create an automated score for allocating shifts.

Consider operational benefits, driver privacy and pressure, possible inaccurate or incomplete data, transparency, human review and the effect of a low score.

Students type their answer here.

Multiple choice1 mark

Which statement provides the strongest evaluation of the social platform's automated moderation?

AAutomated moderation is always fair because computers have no opinions
BIt can review large numbers of posts quickly, but incorrect removals may restrict legitimate users, so an appeal and human review process would reduce the harm
CAll posts should be removed because some posts may be harmful
DIt is bad because technology sometimes has problems

Written answer6 marks

The health insurer says that fitness-watch discounts are fair because every customer may choose whether to share data. Explain two reasons why choice alone may not settle the ethical and privacy questions.

Consider access to a compatible device, financial pressure, the sensitivity and accuracy of health-related data, purpose and future use.

Students type their answer here.

Written answer8 marks

Challenge: Discuss the positive and negative impacts of the shopping centre's facial-recognition and movement-tracking system, including ethical, privacy and legal issues.

Separate identification at an entrance from continuous tracking. Cover the named areas, more than one stakeholder and relevant Data Protection Act responsibilities.

Students type their answer here.

Depth review

For each monitored system, be ready to answer:

What is the legitimate aim?
What data or decision creates the benefit?
Who carries the risk if the result is wrong?
Is the amount and duration of monitoring proportionate?
Which safeguard addresses which concern?

Avoid “encryption solves privacy”. Encryption protects data from unauthorised reading. It does not decide whether the collection, purpose, retention or automated consequence is appropriate.