Introduction to Data Ethics

–Semester 1 2022
Dr. Roksana Moore
Director of Compliance
Course Information

Course code PGR105-1

Credit points 7.5 ECTS

Course name Data Ethics and Regulation

Assessment 100% Essay

Delivery method On Campus and Online

Lecturers Henrik F Jenssen

Roksana Moore

Module Coordinator Roksana Moore

What is Data Ethics?

New powerful technological tools, cheap and unlimited storage capabilities, coupled with
readily available data is a powerful tool that can be used to enhance society and the
human condition. With all this knowledge comes power. With great power comes great
responsibility, and the question of what is right and wrong.

Data ethics looks to moral philosophy in order to help us tackle some of the most complex
issues present in data analytics. It is about the responsible and sustainable use of data in
the digital age.

This course will include:

- A brief introduction to philosophy
- The concept of evil and ethical theories
- Applied ethics in every day life
- Ethical considerations in a technological society
What is Data Ethics?
The Course

• Philosophy of ethics (moral philosophy)

• Concepts of right and wrong • Corporate Social
• Concepts of evil & good (Hannah Arendt - the
banality of evil)
Responsibility
• Virtue and a Virtues life • Instrumentalism
• Consequentialism • Technological
• Jeremy Bentham ”It is the greatest happiness of
the greatest number that is the measure of right
determinism
and wrong.” • Mediation theory
• Utilitarianism • The Age of
• Deontology - Immanuel Kan
• Natural law - Thomas Aquinas Surveillance
• Social contract and authorityThomas Hobbe Capitalism -
• Niccolò Machiavell Shoshana Zubof
• Friedrich Nietzsche
• Peter Singer • George Orwell

Evil does not necessarily stem from

hatred, anger, fanaticism or any other
negative adjective. It might, simply, be
the absent ability of a person to engage
in critical reasoning.
The Course
• Philosophy of privacy
• Privacy & Data Protection • What is privacy?
• History of Data Protection • Ancient Greece and the polis
• Evolution of law and technology • Karl Marx theory of private
• Data Protection Directive vs. GDPR property
• General Data Protection Regulation • Soviet perspective by Kharkhordin
• GDPR definitions and terminology • Ruth GavisonFeminist perspective
• What obligations do entities have? on privacy
• John Lock the right to property
• Warren & Brandeis right to privacy
• What obligations do entities have? • Privacy as a human right
• GDPR Powers • Public vs private
• What rights do Data Subjects have?
• E-privacy Directive
• GDPR Definition – what is personal data?
• When can you process special category data?
• Exceptions to the rule
• What is anonymised data?
• Pseudonymisation vs. Anonymisation
• Example of Pseudonymisation
• Anonymisation technics
• Anonymising qualitative data
• Case law
• Disclosure risks
 Lectures, seminars and mini assignments

Lecture time: 08.15-10.15

Individual or group mini assignment 10.15-12.15

Mini Assigments Submitted on canvas or presented in class at the next lecture

 Compulsory Assignment

Assessment type TBD

Marks worth Pass or Fail

Word count Approx. 500 words

Formate Font size 12

Spacing 1.5
Font Arial

Due date Assessment data: 21.09

Due Date: 27.09
Compulsory Assignment -2021
 Main Assessment

Assessment type Essay - choose between scenario 1 & 2

Marks worth 100%

Word count Max 3500 words (excluding references and footnote)

Formate Font size 12

Spacing 1.5
Font Arial

Due date Essay

Main Assessment - Scenario 1 - 2020

The Eastasian government is trying to revive its economy after a major recession. The Eastasian government has
proposed the introduction of a social credit system to help create a more egalitarian revival of the economy and
with hopes that such a system may prevent future recessions as well as address other social concerns.
A private AI and analytics company called Oxford Analytics have been appointed with the task of creating a
model to help rescue the economy. Oxford Analytics’ model will give social credit to individuals who meet the
following criteria:
● produce more than one child
● donate blood or organs
● completed military service
● clean criminal record
● donate to charity or volunteer in their local community
● studying towards an education deemed important by the government
● live healthy lives (score high on their health checks).
People with high social credit rating will be rewarded with better credit score (easier for them to take out loans),
less waiting time at hospitals, tax relief and discount on holidays and membership clubs.
Critically evaluate Eastasia’s social credit system from an ethical and privacy perspective
Main Assessment - Scenario 2 - 2020

A Vicious virus has reached pandemic status in Eastasia. The main hospital
called Environmental General has reached max capacity and as such a
decision has been made to create an analytics model to help the hospital
staff prioritise patients in order of importance. The model includes variables
such as age, sex, previous health conditions, likelihood of survival and
profession. The aim is to prioritise individuals who have a stronger chance of
survival and social importance to ensure that a maximum number of people
can be saved, with minimum social and economic impact.
Critically evaluate the model from an ethical and privacy perspective
Main Assessment - Scenario 1 - 2021

The Norwegian environmental party (NEP is preparing themselves for the 2022 general election. They are very keen to up
their efforts and they believe that they can win more seats if they run a more focused campaign. In addition to
campaigning for their party, NEP would like to carry out an awareness campaign of the new UN environmental report. NEP
believes that combining environmental awareness with their political message will provide better results.

To achieve this, NEP is instructing Renaissance analytics, a US based data and analytics company to help them with
microtargeting and political advertising.Renaissance analytics will use publicly available data from national statistics
bureau as well as data from social media profiles and combine it with previous general election reports to create a
prediction model. Additionally, a recent study shows that middle class parents with children/teenagers are more likely to be
concerned with environmental politics than low-income parents. Based on this data, Renaissance analytics has created a
highly accurate model that allows them to target individual households.

NEP will only send out information to the targeted groups.

They will use this information to send out targeted:
Environmental Awareness material via post
Information about their political manifesto via post
Political adverts via social media

Critically evaluate NEP´s political campaign from an ethical and privacy perspective
Main Assessment - Scenario 2 - 2021

A municipality in Sweden is concerned about rising in crime and ghettos across the
region. They would like to ensure that all boroughs have representation from
different ethnicities, LHBT, people from different backgrounds and education.

The municipality have decided to overhaul their city planning policy and hire in a
Russian analytics company - Red Coders. The Red Coders will create a model that
will ensure that each borough will have equal representation of different ethnicities,
LHBT, people with high, medium and low income, different educational levels,
people with criminal records and elderly people. Red Coders believes that each
borough in the municipality becomes more heterogeneous as a result of this model.

Critically evaluate the Swedish municipalities new city planning model/policy from a
an ethical and privacy perspective
Science vs. Social Science

Quantitative research deals with numbers and statistics

Qualitative research deals with words and meanings

Philosophy and law is a social science and therefore focused on qualitative

research. It is therefore important that you learn the content of the course but also
how to conduct Qualitative research and essay writing.
Academic writing – Essay

• Read and understand the scenario – critically evaluate is key

• The word critically evaluate requires you to break down the fundamental
parts of the scenario
• Consider the problem the scenario raises?
• Consider the privacy and ethical issues as instructed in the scenario.
• What are the strengths and weaknesses with the scenario?
• Draw upon the philosophical theory and legal requirements we have
covered earlier in the course
• It is important to provide information about both sides of the debate
• Make your position known and draw it to the literature – provide evidence
to support your position!
Academic writing – Essay

Essay structure

• Title
• Introduction -
– give the reader a plan of the main concepts and issues that you will be discussing.
– your introduction should be max 10% of the essay
• Main body –
– provide evidence that you have done your literature review
– Discuss each of the main issues identified
– Provide evidence whenever you make a statement
– Your main body should be 80% of the essay
• Conclusion –
– Ensure that the main issues are addressed/summarise the main points
– Provide evidence to support the main argument that you are making
– Your conclusion should be 10% of the essay
Academic writing – sources
Primary sources Secondary sources

- Legislation - Encyclopedia
- Treaties - Journals
- Constitution - Books
- Legal guideline - Explanatory notes
- Case law - News article
- Theory
Academic writing – referencing
Referencing Book
1. Name(s) of
author(s)/editor(s)
2. Year of publication (in
brackets); if no year put
n.d. in brackets (n.d.)
3. Title of book
emboldened
4. Edition, if not the first
5. Number of volumes, if
more than one
6. Place of publication
7. Name of publisher
Referencing Journal
1. Name(s) of
author(s)/editor(s)
2. Year of publication (in
brackets); if no year put
n.d. in brackets (n.d.)
3. Title of book
emboldened
4. Edition, if not the first
5. Number of volumes, if
more than one
6. Place of publication
7. Name of publisher
Referencing website
1.Names(s) of
author(s)
2. Year of publication
(in brackets); if no year
put n.d. in brackets
(n.d.)
3. Title of web page
emboldened
4. [online]
5. Available from:
6. The web address
7. [Accessed: date the
web page was
accessed]
Academic writing – quoting and referncing

Quoting – “Despite the benefits of standardisation when establishing liability

for software quality, a reliance on private law remains. The timeline for
improving software quality is therefore largely dictated by the law and by
market reaction to instances of liability. Given that neither of these can be
predicted, the success of this self-regulated approach to the use of
standardisation is equally uncertain” - Moore R., "The Case for Regulating
Quality within Computer Security Applications", in European Journal of Law
and Technology, Vol. 4, No. 3, 2013

Reference - Moore R argues for standardization as a means to regulate

software quality - Moore R., "The Case for Regulating Quality within Computer
Security Applications", in European Journal of Law and Technology, Vol. 4, No.
3, 2013
Plagiarism

Plagiarism is passing off someone else’s work as your own. This can be
copying and pasting or passing off other people’s ideas as your own.

Plagiarism is taken very seriously by Kristiania University College and it can

lead to failing the course – worst case explosion from university.
THANK YOU