UM Tagum College

UM Visayan Campus, Tagum City, Davao del Norte

Telefax No.: (084) 655-9607 | Local 135

Name: Van Renzo C. Clarin Dept./College: Department of Arts and Sciences

Education
Subject: CS 8 – SOCIAL ISSUES AND PROFESSIONAL
PRACTICE Instructor: Iris Mae C. Mendoza

Code: 5156

Assignment 1: Privacy

Instructions:

a. Answer the following questions. Your answers should be based in the Philippine context.

Note: Answers coming from ChatGPT or other AI generative applications will be automatically zero.

b. Write your answer below each question. Save your file Assignment1_yourfamilyname.
c. Submit your output as a pdf file in the drive link given below. Use your umindanao email as the drive is
restricted. Drive link:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/18h2aqFczi9scYm3FSuaB0eSsnHpXAKPZ?usp=drive_link

1. You run a store that embeds radio frequency ID’s (RFIDs) into shopping carts, which are small inexpensive
chips used to track the shopping habits of the user. For this to happen, the user must pay with a credit card
or utilize a loyalty card to reduce their bill. Is tracking the shopping habits of consumers through radio
frequency ID’s an ethical practice?

Answer:

In this scenario, many factors affect the ethicality of tracking consumers' shopping habits through radio
frequency ID. First of all, are customers informed about the use of RFIDs in shopping carts? As stated in the
Republic Act 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012, Chapter IV. Rights of the Data Subject, Section 16.
Subsection (a) - that the data subject is entitled to be informed whether personal information pertaining to
him or her shall be, is being, or has been processed.

Second, the data security: Is the information collected from the consumers well protected? The store must
ensure their customers that their choice of disclosing their personal information is well protected.

And lastly, the most important of all is the purpose and transparency of the use of RFIDs in shopping carts. In
the given scenario, their purpose was to track the shopping habits of consumers; their purpose might be to
help consumers shop smartly and efficiently, but some consumers might not like the idea of tracking their
shopping habits, so they can opt out of using this system; if this is the only reason, then it would be an
ethical practice since they didn't use the collected data for some malicious intent.

2. You work for an e-commerce Internet business. A customer places an order and you fail to inform them that
your company sells customer information to third parties. This results in the disclosure of their private
information to a third party for marketing purposes. Is it morally appropriate to use a customer’s
information for marketing purposes without their knowledge?

Answer:

In this scenario, you work for an e-commerce Internet business and should have informed the customer that
your company sells customer information to third parties. This statement or scenario is considered wrong or
 UM Tagum College

UM Visayan Campus, Tagum City, Davao del Norte

Telefax No.: (084) 655-9607 | Local 135

inappropriate here. A company must have a privacy policy that indicates how these companies will use the
information provided, how it will meet its legal obligations, and what will happen if they fail.

Moreover, the situation violated Republic Act 10173, also known as the "Data Privacy Act of 2012," in
Section 16 of Chapter IV—Rights of the Data Subject, where multiple data subject rights were violated. The
company disclosed the customer's private information to a third party for marketing purposes, which failed
to inform the customer on how and where their information would be processed. The company also
neglected its responsibility to provide and ensure the security of its customer's personal information, which
violated the same act in Chapter V - Security of Personal Information, Section 20. Subsection (c) is where
multiple implementations failed to be applied by the company.

Therefore, I conclude that the above situation is not morally appropriate because of the violations and their
negligence of responsibility.

3. You are the senior IT manager at a bank and receive monitoring statistics on one of your best employees.
The stats indicate that he was visiting gambling Web sites on the job. When you confront him, he honestly
states that they were just popup windows, and he does not even gamble. What if you fired him based on
the data you received. Is this type of information collection useful and accurate or just an invasion of
personal privacy?

Answer:

In the scenario above, we can only act rashly with proper consideration and investigation. It might be
possible for you to fire an employee based on the data you received, but we need to consider some factors to
justify the right to fire him.

First of all, we need to consider the agreement that the employee has informed and signed to the company
regarding their company's policies and regulations; if the employees were aware of the company's privacy
policy and regulations that their internet usage is monitored, that would not be a problem since they are
informed where their personal information is processed and used, as indicated in Republic Act 10173,
Chapter IV - Rights of the Data Subject, Section 16.

Second, the employee claims it was pop-up windows, and he does not gamble. The higher-ups or someone
with authority might need to conduct a thorough investigation and check their internet history to prove they
are correct.

Lastly, employees must consider ethics in the workplace. Every company establishes workplace ethics that
are meant to be followed by employers and employees to work harmoniously. The employee knows that the
computer that they are using is company property; it is obviously a misuse of the company's resources.
Furthermore, these ethics are also created to improve stakeholder relationships.