ICT Human Secrecy and Privacy

TEST 4

What is the difference between Privacy

Data Privacy

What is Copyright and what does it protect?

Copyright is the legal right of the owner of intellectual property — giving original creators and those they authorise the exclusive right to reproduce

What is a Patent and what are the conditions for obtaining one?

A patent is a property right granted by a government to an inventor giving them exclusive rights to their process

How do Copyright and Patents differ?

Copyright arises automatically the moment an original work is created — no registration is required — and protects artistic and literary expression for approximately 60 years. A patent requires formal registration

What is a Trade Secret and how does it differ from a Patent?

A trade secret is any practice or process of a company that is not publicly known

Who is entitled to access personal records such as medical and financial history?

Medical records may be accessed by close family

What is the difference between a Leak and Whistleblowing?

A leak is the unauthorised disclosure of information — a value-neutral term that does not indicate whether the disclosure was justified or harmful. Whistleblowing is the deliberate exposure of wrongful conduct that was kept secret and implies the act was morally justified. Example: Edward Snowden — a contractor to the US National Security Agency — revealed classified material in 2013 showing alleged illegal surveillance of citizens

What ethical and legal tensions surround government secrecy in the internet age?

Governments claim secrecy is necessary to protect national security and competitive interests — but secrecy can also conceal corruption and crime. In the internet age leaks spread rapidly and violating secrecy can be weaponised by state actors. Key tensions include: (1) whether political leaders' medical and financial records should be public given their positions of power (2) whether platforms like WikiLeaks should act as gatekeepers for leaks (3) how to balance secrecy laws with rights to free speech and accountable government. The takeaway is to remain critical and not gullible when encountering leaked informatio