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Bradley Smith

Professor Flores

ENG 1201

4/12/19

Annotated Bibliography

My research essay will provide education on the subject of data privacy and the ethical

implications of practices relating to it such as data mining, spyware, and workplace monitoring

in the United States. I would like to develop an understanding of the laws and regulations

regarding this subject as well as controversial cases involving the ethics of it.

“Data Mining in Brief.” Towards Data Science, Towards Data Science, 23 Dec. 2017,

https://towardsdatascience.com/data-mining-in-brief-26483437f178.

Sidath Asiri defines Data Mining as collecting and inspecting data to develop and extract

patterns to provide valuable insights. He goes on to explain that it involves a combination of

various data sources relating to aspects such as market trends, demographics, financial data, etc.

Asiri lists the step-by-step process of data mining to demonstrate the power that comes from it as

well as laying out models of data mining techniques. He supports his information by

demonstrating the application and result of data mining through a graph displaying which aspects

in business have the most to gain from data mining techniques.

This article provides an educational understanding of what data mining is and the

techniques or models that can be used to employ it. He is demonstrating and explaining the uses

of data mining and how effective it can be if employed correctly.

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The author, Sidath Asiri, provides credible knowledge and insight on a data science web

page. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science showing that he is a credible and

adequate source on the subject.

I will use this source in my research paper to introduce the topic of data mining and

explain the uses of it before getting into the thoughtful analysis and ethics of it. This will provide

an understanding and background of the subject to my audience.

Hoven, Jeroen van den, et al. “Privacy and Information Technology.” Stanford Encyclopedia of

Philosophy, Stanford University, 20 Nov. 2014, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/it-

privacy/.

Jeroen van den Hoven published a extensive article on the Stanford Encyclopedia of

Philosophy database on the evolution of Privacy and Information Technology and how they are

related. Hoven articulates the perceptions and value of privacy and personal data and discusses

some regulations on the matter. One of the principal regulations implemented through data

protection laws involve the requirement of consent of those whose personal information is being

obtained. Hoven continues by discussing the impacts of IT evolutions on privacy stemming from

technologies such as social media and Big Data. Social media infrastructures have impacted

privacy in ways such as provoking users to provide personal data for access to their platforms.

Other functions such as the ability to “like” things on these platforms can provide information to

anyone who can see that information. A way to counteract the dangers of this is to implement

privacy settings but that does not limit the access of the platform itself to your information. Big

Data demonstrates an even more dangerous thought as user behavior becomes the target of

information then. Things such as browsing history, search terms entered and internet transactions
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can play a big role in creating a profile about a specific user. Hoven also expresses later on that

evolutions of Information Technology can also provide solutions to these ethical issues

implementing privacy techniques and algorithms to provide better security for users.

This article provides a deep understanding of the relationship of privacy and IT. The

author provides critical analysis of the relationship and demonstrates how they can be turned

from a negative impact on each other to a positive change.

The author, Jeroen van den Hoven, is a professor specializing in the ethics of information

technology. There could not be a more credible source out there when it comes to ethical issues

relating to privacy. He provides a wealth of information on the subject to demonstrate critical

insight and knowledge.

I will be utilizing this article in the early stages of my paper as well as a little bit near the

end to initially discuss the relationships between privacy and information technology as well as

finishing with the ideas and thoughts that IT can have a positive impact on personal privacy.

Lee, Wanbil W., et al. “An Ethical Approach to Data Privacy Protection.” ISACA, 2016,

www.isaca.org/Journal/archives/2016/volume-6/Pages/an-ethical-approach-to-data-

privacy-protection.aspx.

Wanbil Lee explains an ethical approach to Data Privacy Protection and ways to solve the

problems facing the Information Age today. Lee articulates the process of a person’s legal rights

to their personal data and gets into the protection process of these elements. He details ways to

implement data privacy protection and the complexities of developing these methods. Lee gives

his thoughts and inputs for technical and social solutions as to creating international principles to

provide data protection. Lee provides thoughts such as implementing safeguarding data and
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creating a sense of awareness on the dangers of protecting personal data. Lee explains that an

issue on this matter is that countries have different regulation and explains the different

implementations of these in the world such as the U.S., Europe, Asia and internationally. Lee

lays out a regulation provided by Hong Kong detailing Six Data Protection Principles of PDPO

that many countries reference on the matter. He concludes that implementation of a Code of

Conduct is necessary for providing guidance in creating data privacy standards to allow ethical

and professional ways of obtaining data. He finishes with stating that the two reasons this is a

necessity are information security will continue to become more complicated stemming from

new risks and the dangers of privacy infringement becoming more frequent due to these

technological advances.

Lee’s purpose in this article is to detail the need for international acceptance and

cooperation in creating standards on data privacy protection regulations and laws. This piece is

written on ISACA’s website which is a global association to provide knowledge and practices for

information systems and technology.

Wanbil Lee is the Founder and President of the Computer Ethics Society who strives to

provide ethical ways of implementing and utilizing IT systems. He is a great source and provides

lots of information and thoughtful analysis on the ethical standards and necessity for a Code of

Conduct on ethics relating to data protection and privacy.

I am going to be using this article near the conclusion of my paper to demonstrate the

need for regulation and laws to determine that practices such as data mining, spyware, workplace

monitoring, or anything else relating to obtaining personal data will be used in ethical and legal

ways.
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Price, Tom. “Big Data and Privacy.” CQ Researcher, Sinclair Community College, 25 Oct. 2013,

library.cqpress.com.sinclair.ohionet.org/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2013102

500&type=hitlist&num=0.

Tom Price reports and analyzes the impacts of Big Data on Privacy and outlines the

relationship between the two. He begins by explaining the evolutions of technology and how Big

Data has provided positive changes in the world such as medical advances and scientific

breakthroughs and also aiding in business modeling. He also explains how governments utilizing

Big Data in fighting terrorism and crime. He also provides a harrowing statistic that in 2000,

only 25% of the world’s information was digital while that number today is up to 98%. This

demonstrates the infinite power of information and control over the digital world and domains

even more explaining the crucial impacts of data protection and privacy. Price goes on to weight

the pros and cons of big data to determine the effectiveness versus the harm that it can generate.

He provides support showing that 55% of Americans believe data collection is a negative and

invasive practice. He repeatedly refers to life today as living in a surveillance state as everything

we do is monitored in some way. He demonstrates that the U.S. invokes laws to protect certain

kinds of data such as financial or medical information. An interesting thought provided by

Computer Scientist Jaron Lanier was that people should be paid for their personal data. Price

continues by providing background on the history of Big Data and its relationships with aspects

of life such as politics. Then he discusses an intriguing debate on introducing new laws to

prevent collection of personal data. The pro arguments lay out that companies and search engines

have the capabilities to protect your information but simply are not required to do so suggesting

that we have the means but there are no regulations or laws to enact them. The con arguments

examine counterarguments to the ideas that new regulation puts users in the driver’s seat. These
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arguments suggest educating users on how their data is obtained and showing them how to

protect it with the current regulations implemented already.

Price provides great insights into the world of Big Data and the massive impacts it has on

the world. He provokes his audience to gain a deeper understanding of the subject and gives

different perspectives on how to face those challenges moving forward.

This article comes from a university library database and the author is a writer for the

database focusing on public affairs involving technology and science. He provides a great

amount of information and analytics to demonstrate the impacts of Big Data.

I will utilize this article to display the impacts of data mining techniques, how critical it is

to have regulation on privacy, and demonstrate the perceptions of it in the eyes of the American

public.

Sydell, Laura. “Ohio Man Charged with Putting Spyware On Thousands of Computers.” NPR,

NPR, 13 Jan. 2018,

www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2018/01/12/577761143/ohio-man-charged-with-

putting-spyware-on-thousands-of-computers.

Laura Sydell published a fascinating article on National Public Radio discussing the

dangers of spyware. Her article details a case in Ohio where a 28-year-old man had utilized a

spyware technique to spy on thousands of users remotely with the ability to watch and listen to

them. This is a terrifying thought and he had been doing so for over 13 years. She explains that

the man could use webcams to see what users were doing and if they were on their computer. An

even more shocking idea is that the man had programmed his spyware to alert him if a user was
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watching pornography. She uses testimony from anti-virus software developer Thomas Reed

who explains that spyware such as this can be difficult to detect because of its design explaining

that it can take a very long time for security officers to find the software. She finished by

reassuring that the FBI claims they do not see a lot of cases on spyware such as this.

The author provides a bone-chilling story to explain to her audience the dangers of

software such as spyware and how it can be incredibly invasive into our privacy. Her audience is

anyone in the United States as she wrote the article on National Public Radio.

Laura Sydell is a correspondent with NPR focusing on the ways that technology is

affecting our culture and our daily lives. She provides a great piece of information on the uses of

spyware and how it can affect our personal privacy.

I will be using this article in my research paper to discuss the dangers of spyware and the

major negative impacts that it can have on privacy and the immoral uses of it. Utilizing this case

study with provide the audience with a great perspective on ethical issues relating to spyware and

how it should be considered illegal.

Wallace, Rodney D. “Electronic Surveillance of Nurses in the Workplace: Ethical

Considerations.” Historical Perspectives on an Expanded Role for Nursing, 17 Apr. 2018,

ojin.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/Co

lumns/Ethics/Electronic-Surveillance-of-Nurses.html.

Rodney Wallace discusses the issues of workplace monitoring and how it is affecting

business and employees today. He provides an excellent case study on the matter which

discusses the impacts of it in the medical world. He explains that employers have legal

justification to do so as U.S. courts consistently side with the employer. Wallace outlines the
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tools used in workplace surveillance and discusses the benefits and consequences of them. He

also provides ethical consideration on these practices. Recent data claims that around 78% of

U.S. businesses monitor their employees in some way or another. He explains that civil liberties

groups fighting workplace monitoring struggle to make progress in their efforts. Later, Wallace

begins to outline the benefits of it such as increased security, risk management, and enhanced

productivity. He details that electronic monitoring severely cuts employee theft cases and misuse

of time as well as deterring unprofessional behavior. Electronic surveillance can also increase

productivity based on employees working harder and using their time more wisely. Wallace then

gets into the negative impacts of workplace monitoring discussing issues such as diminished

privacy, impacts on mental health, increased distrust and abuse of power. He outlines that

humans have rights to their privacy and not being used by others and sometimes need that

personal space and time to just be alone with their thoughts which can foster innovation and

creative thinking. The mental health issues that can plague employees from stress and emotional

issues stemming from a sense of always being watched is a dangerous impact that should not be

messed with. Employees may also view electronic monitorization as an indication of mistrust

from the company which can lead to a high-tension and hostile work setting. He explains the

abuse of power that employers have when implementing such practices through coercion,

blackmail, discrimination and more. Wallace concludes that employers have an immense amount

of power from practices such as workplace monitorization and that employees must be aware of

when it is justified and if not take necessary action. Furthermore, this reinforces the thought that

a Code of Conduct or regulation must be implemented to prevent such issues from occurring. He

finishes by stating that a procedural justice approach in implementing surveillance practices is

the fairest approach because it attempts to align and protect with both parties’ interests.
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This is a fantastic analytical article on the issues and impacts of workplace monitoring in

today’s world. Rodney Wallace is speaking to those in the medical field but his words can be

heard in any field of work as they provide great insight and suggestion on how to handle

controversy related to the subject.

Wallace is an RN with experience in behavioral health nursing. He has studied electronic

surveillance in the workplace and the impact it has on employers and employees work

experience.

I will be using this article in my paper to discuss workplace monitoring and how it affects

businesses today. This article gives me lots of information and perspective to explain even more

the dangers of exploiting privacy and why proper regulation is critical moving forward.

“What Is Personal Data?” ICO, https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-

protection-regulation-gdpr/key-definitions/what-is-personal-data/.

Personal data is defined as any piece of information that can be tied to an identity or

individual. The General Data Protection Regulation in the UK explains this as data that includes

information relating to people that can be directly or indirectly identified by that information.

The main list of identifiers can include things such as a name, identification number, data about

location, or online identifiers and handles including IP addresses, cookies and more. You do not

need someone’s name to directly identify them from personal data and other information

obtained. It can be processed and extrapolated to reveal someone’s identity based on correlation.

Information that can indirectly identify a person can also be considered personal data. This

involves data that “relates to” an individual and provokes questions that must be answered such

as if the content of the data, the purpose you will process the data, and the results or outcomes of
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that can reference to or link to an individual. Data mining and processing information can be

tricky because some organizations may process information for purposes that the identity does

not matter while other organizations can process the same information for purposes that can be

invasive or considered unethical.

The purpose of this article is to provide context into the definition of personal data and

other ways that data can be extracted to identify someone. This article is intended for those who

will implement data mining techniques and want to do so ethically and legally.

The article comes from the Information Commissioner’s Office from the UK which is an

independent body designed to uphold information and privacy rights. This is a great source of

information on ethical considerations related to data mining.

I will be using this article early on in my paper to demonstrate what personal data is and

start the debate of what is determined ethical, legal, etc. This provides great context and a

foundation to go off of.