Data Ethics & Privacy Flashcards
7 cards from real DAC practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Data Ethics & Privacy flashcards as text
Which of the following is an example of a 'privacy by design' principle in data systems?
Answer: Building privacy safeguards into the system architecture from the start
Privacy by design means proactively embedding privacy protections into systems and processes during the design phase, not as an afterthought.
A company shares its customers' purchase history with a third-party marketing firm without notifying customers. This action most likely violates which ethical principle?
Answer: Transparency
Transparency requires organizations to clearly disclose how they collect, use, and share personal data; sharing data without notifying customers violates this principle.
What is 'differential privacy' as used in data analytics?
Answer: A mathematical framework that adds statistical noise to datasets to protect individual privacy while allowing aggregate analysis
Differential privacy is a mathematical technique that injects carefully calibrated noise into query results so that individual data points cannot be identified, while still allowing meaningful aggregate statistics.
According to GDPR, what is the maximum fine for the most serious data protection violations?
Answer: €20 million or 4% of global annual turnover
GDPR's highest tier of fines for serious violations (such as violating core data processing principles) is up to €20 million or 4% of total global annual turnover, whichever is higher.
A data scientist discovers their predictive model has significantly lower accuracy for minority demographic groups. What is the most ethical next step?
Answer: Investigate the training data for bias and retrain the model with balanced representation
Discovering disparate model performance across demographic groups requires investigating sources of bias in training data and retraining the model to ensure fair and equitable outcomes.
Which term describes the practice of using data collected for one purpose to make decisions about individuals in an unrelated context?
Answer: Function creep
Function creep (also called 'scope creep') occurs when data collected for one stated purpose is later used for a different, often unintended purpose, raising serious privacy and ethical concerns.
Which of the following best describes a 'data steward' role in an organization?
Answer: An individual responsible for managing data assets, ensuring data quality, and enforcing data governance policies
A data steward is responsible for overseeing data assets within an organization, ensuring data quality, consistency, and compliance with governance policies.