Is a number by itself personal information?

It can be. The definition covers data that identifies a person indirectly, by being linked with other data — which is exactly what an ID or licence number does.

May I share a friend's details if my purpose is good?

Not without their consent. The rule is consent before providing personal information to a third party, and the five exceptions are narrow ones exercised by public bodies — not by a person on social media.

What is the difference between image rights and publicity rights?

Image rights belong to everyone and stop others photographing or using their face without permission. Publicity rights protect a celebrity's economic interest in their likeness, which is why selling merchandise is the issue there.

Lesson 2-1

Personal Information

Unit 2 — Regulations and Rights in the Information Society

Information and Communication Technology — Baccalaureate Year 1

Textbook pages pp. 12–15Published

What counts as personal information, the rule on giving it to a third party, and the three rights over a photograph — privacy, image rights and publicity rights.

Learning objectives

01Decide whether an item is personal information by the test of identification, directly or indirectly.
02Name the Four Basic Items, the Personal Identification Codes and Special Care-Required Personal Information.
03State the rule on providing personal information to a third party, and the cases where consent is not needed.
04Distinguish the right to privacy, image rights and publicity rights, and apply each to a photograph.
05Explain what organisations do to protect personal information: privacy policy, licence, prior approval and objection systems.

Summary

The lesson starts with a test rather than a list: personal information is any data relating to a natural person who can be identified, directly or indirectly by linking it with other data. The second half of that sentence does most of the work. A licence number on its own looks like a string of digits; combined with other information it identifies someone, so it is personal information.

Three named subsets follow. The Four Basic Items — name, address, date of birth, gender. Personal Identification Codes — the numbers on passports, driving licences and National IDs. And Special Care-Required Personal Information — race, creed, social status, medical history, criminal record: information that needs careful handling precisely because it can be used to prejudice someone.

The Act on the Protection of Personal Information sets the rule for handling it: an individual's personal information may not be provided to a third party without that individual's consent. Five cases are exceptions — laws and regulations; national security or the public interest; human life, body or property; public health or the healthy development of children; cooperation with national or local government. The exceptions are narrow and are exercised by public bodies, which is why 'it was for a good purpose' does not make a list of names a legitimate thing to hand over.

The last part is about photographs, and three different rights that are easy to confuse. The right to privacy protects information a person does not want others to know. Image rights let a person stop others photographing or using their face or appearance without permission — which is why being family is not permission. Publicity rights protect the economic interests of a celebrity in their likeness — which is why drawing a footballer is fine and selling shirts of the drawing is not. These rights come from court precedents rather than from a statute. Companies answer for their side with a privacy policy, a licence from the regulator, and prior-approval or objection systems.

Key terms

Personal information: Any data relating to a natural person who can be identified, directly or indirectly by linking it with other data.
Four Basic Items: Name, address, date of birth and gender.
Personal Identification Codes: Numbers such as those on a passport, a driving licence or a National ID.
Special Care-Required Personal Information: Race, creed, social status, medical history, criminal record — information requiring careful handling to prevent prejudice and other disadvantages.
Act on the Protection of Personal Information: The law that stipulates the proper handling of personal information, including the rule of consent before providing it to a third party.
Right to privacy: The right of a person to protect personal information they do not want others to know.
Image rights: The right of a person to stop others photographing or using their face or appearance without permission.
Publicity rights: A right protecting the economic interests of celebrities in their likeness.

Sample questions

01A driving licence number is a sequence of digits. Explain, using the definition, why it is personal information.Understand
02A school posts a trip list with names, dates of birth, gender and the pick-up stop, saying the data is public. Identify which items are Four Basic Items and what risk the linking of them creates.Analyse
03Three claims: 'she is my cousin so I can post her photo'; 'I drew the footballer myself so I can sell the shirts'; 'the whole street knows he is ill'. Judge each and name the right it breaks.Evaluate

Answers are on the portal, graded there.

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