Paper 3: Privacy and the Data Economy

Overview

In the spirit of The Engaged Citizen course, the focus of this writing assignment is to communicate why the collection of and trade in personal information has implications in society. Students will be asked to incorporate lessons and skills from both sides of the TEC course to make an argument about whether or not the data economy should be regulated within the context of communicating with a member of Congress.

Key Components

  • Select one of the following topics from class to act as the central topic of your paper:
    • Free Apps That Collect Data
    • Imperfect Information Market Failures in the Data Economy
    • Facebook Whistleblower Scandal
    • California Consumer Protection Act
    • If you have a separate topic that is special to you, organize a meeting with Prof. Haden Chomphosy to discuss if it fits into the assignment.
  • Within the context of the selected topic, explain what the data economy is and provide an example of personal information being collected. This is a good opportunity to include a data visualization using skills from the class.
  • Take a position on whether or not this type of behavior should be banned, limited, or unrestricted by the government. State this point clearly in a thesis statement.
  • Look up who the state legislator is for your hometown or district. For the stance you have taken, make an argument to the legislator that incorporates concepts and ideas from the class as well as your own perspective.
  • Conclude the paper with a clear and definitive statement on the importance of either regulating the data economy or leaving it unrestricted.
  • Following feedback from peers and instructors, send the email to your legislator.
  • Bibliography of sources in MLA format.

Formatting and Submission Details

  • This assignment should be written up as a complete and coherent document. Do not present your work in the form of a bulleted list, or outline.
  • The paper should be 12 point font, double-spaced, and between 500-1000 words (approximately 2-4 pages). If you choose to include graphical analysis, you should still follow the word count as a guideline.
  • Writing and communicating effectively is an incredibly important skill that must be developed and improved on. Thus, part of your grade will depend on grammar, spelling, and coherency. I highly recommend that you make use of the writing center located in the Bailey Library. This service is provided as part of your tuition , so in a way you have already payed the cost and should try and maximize your benefits!
  • If you quote any source you must use appropriate quotation formatting and in-text citations. Refer to MLA policies. Any evidence of plagiarism will be reported to the school and penalized pursuant to the Hendrix Academic Integrity Policy, which can be found in the College handbook.