LIVING IN THE IT ERA

COMP 20213

WEEK 3
Information, Control, and Privacy

Mr. Owen Harvey Balocon

Instructor

Polytechnic University of the Philippines

STA ROSA CAMPUS
Mula Sa’yo para sa Bayan
OVERVIEW
The amount of information that can be stored or processed in an information system
depends on the technology used. The capacity of the technology has increased rapidly
over the past decades. This holds for storage capacity, processing capacity, and
communication bandwidth. We are now capable of storing and processing data on the
exabyte level.
These developments have fundamentally changed our practices of information
provisioning. The rapid changes have increased the need for careful consideration of the
desirability of effects. In both the technical and the epistemic sense, emphasis has been
put on connectivity and interaction. Physical space has become less important,
information is ubiquitous, and social relations have adapted as well.
As connectivity increases access to information, it also increases the possibility for
agents to act based on the new sources of information. When these sources contain
personal information, risks of harm, inequality, discrimination, and loss of autonomy
easily emerge.
INFORMATION AS A RESOURCE
Information can be simply defined as "facts about something or someone that are
provided or learned." Facts are considered relevant truths which have been
validated and identified. Data are considered facts; therefore, processed data are
considered as information as they are organized in such a way that they have
additional value beyond the value of the facts themselves. Unlike other
organizational resources, information is considered:

1. Expandable. Information can be expanded without compromising its

integrity. In fact, by having additional information, much more can be understood
from it. An example is a person's personal information. While knowing his or her
name, contact details and current work may be useful, having the person's full
curriculum vitae becomes more useful for those in, for example, the HR
Department.
 INFORMATION AS A RESOURCE
2. Compressible. Although expanded information can give a more detailed
explanation, it may not always be needed. An example of this is in news sites. Instead of
a barrage of details, news sites would often give one-liner headlines that provide enough
1nformation about the news. Another example is research abstracts. An abstract is
normally a half- or a one-page Summary of the entire research.
3. Transportable. Information, especially digital information is easily transportable.
With the use of the internet and various technologies, information can be sent anytime
and anywhere.
4. Diffusive. Gossip or rumors tend to spread easily. Unfortunately, the same applies
to any kind of information be it true or not.
5. Sharable. Since information can be easily spread, it is considered sharable as well.
Information can be kept calling a secret. However, once a person decides to tell it to
someone, then he or she will no longer have control over it.
 INFORMATION AS A RESOURCE
Information is not all different from other resources. Like how physical resources are
managed, information is considered valuable and has a life cycle. It begins with
transforming raw materials into a finished product – processing data to come up with
valuable information. One example is weather forecasting. Scientist use statistical data
from previous days to predict possible weather conditions the next day. Another example
is the academic grades of students in a university. By determining the students’
weighted average from first year to senior year the school can identify honor students
based on their academic standing.
Quotes to Ponder about Information
 VALUABLE INFORMATION
Information is said to be valuable if it has the following characteristics:
1. Accurate. Accurate information is error-free. In some cases, inaccurate
information is generated because inaccurate data was processed. Analysts call this as
“garbage-in garbage-out”.
2. Complete. Complete information contains all the important facts.
3. Economical. Information should be relatively economical to produce. Decision-
makers must always balance the value of information with the cost of producing it. With
the spread of the internet, information dissemination has become easier, faster and a lot
cheaper.
4. Reliable. Reliable information can be depended on. In many cases, the reliability
of information depends on the validity of the data collection methods. In other cases,
reliability depends on the source of information, which brings us back to valuable
information being economical.
VALUABLE INFORMATION
5. Flexible. Flexible information can be used for different purposes. Depending on the
situation, personal information can be used for a variety of ways.
6. Relevant. Information should be relevant to be an agent in making decisions.
7. Simple. Information should also be simple, not overly complex. Sophisticated and
detailed information may not be needed. Complex information may sometimes lead to
confusion which could result in inaccuracy of details.
8. Timely. Timely information is delivered when it is needed. This is true in the case of
weather predictions, stock market forecasts and traffic management.
9. Verifiable. This means that information can be checked for correctness and
authenticity.
10. Accessible. Information should be easily accessible by authorized users to be
obtained in the right format at the right time meet their needs.
11. Secure. Information should be secure from access by unauthorized users.
VALUE OF INFORMATION

Information is considered valuable mainly for business purposes as

businesses depend on it to produce quality products and services. This
helps organizations become globally competitive and be up to date with the
latest trends and technology. With businesses gearing toward IT
automation, the strategy now is to come up with business activities that
shorten time frames while increasing productivity. Valuable information
helps make good decisions which is why valuable or useful information is
called knowledge.
INFORMATION CONTROL

A Large requirement for information control comes from commerce, industry and copyright
owners in general. Information control comes in the form of keeping secrets inside a
business or selling IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) to those prepared to purchase it.
Information control is about allowing those who have appropriate authority to access and
use of information based on the authority that they hold.
Intellectual Property

A Large requirement for information

control comes from commerce, industry
and copyright owners in general.
Information control comes in the form of
keeping secrets inside a business or selling
IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) to those
prepared to purchase it.
Information control is about allowing those
who have appropriate authority to access
and use of information based on the
authority that they hold.
Intellectual Property

Intellectual Property (IP) refers to several

distinct types of intangibles assets for
which a set of exclusive rights are
recognized. IP is any creation or product of
the human mind and may be expressed in
the form of original ideas, expressions and
processes. Intellectual Property Rights
(IPR) are the rights given to persons over
their creations. They usually give the
creator an exclusive right over the use of
his or her creation for a certain period.
According to the Intellectual Property Code
of the Philippines (Republic Act No. 8293 s.
1998), IPR is consists of the following:
 Intellectual Property

• Copyright and related rights

• Trademarks and service marks
• Geographic indications
• Industrial design
• Patents
• Layout designs (topographies) of
Integrated Circuits (ICs)
• Protection of undisclosed information
Data Privacy Act 10173

With all these pieces of information made

available online, countries have come up
with ways to protect their data from
malicious individuals who might use them
for illegal purposes. The Philippines, with
its booming IT industry is no exception. To
protect the privacy of Filipino citizens,
Republic Act No. 10173, also know as the
Data Privacy Act of 2012, was signed and
approved by then President Benigno
Aquino III on August 15, 2012.
The law defines sensitive personal
information as being:
Data Privacy Act 10173

❖ Individual’s race, ethics origin,

marital status, age, color and religious,
philosophical or political affiliations
❖ Individual’s health, education,
genetic or sexual life of a person, or to any
proceeding or any offense committed or
alleged to have committed.
❖ Issued by government agencies
“unique” to an individual, such as social
security number
❖ Marked as classified by an Executive
Order or an act of Congress
Data Privacy Act 10173
All processing of sensitive and personal
information is prohibited except in certain
circumstances. The exceptions are:

❖ Consent of the data subject

❖ Pursuant to law that does not
require consent
❖ Necessity to protect the life and
health of a person
❖ Necessity for medical treatment
❖ Necessity to protect the lawful
rights of data subjects in court
proceedings, legal proceedings or
regulation
Data Privacy Quotes to ponder