Your details: Public or private?
Every individual has the right to privacy in some areas of their lives, but sharing other pieces of information can benefit society as a whole. This can help with security, taxation, welfare provision, and more. But where does the balance lie?
This resource includes a set of cards to challenge your students to think about which pieces of information about their lives they feel should be personal and which should be shared, in the context of the Protection of Freedoms Act
2012.
For more information, you can also read the online feature about personal freedoms and the issues raised by the Protection of Freedoms Act.
widely.
How to use the cards
The first step is to print out and cut up the cards on pages 3-5 and distribute to your students. You may want to take several copies so your students can discuss them in small groups.
Choose one of the three classroom activities below. Each will allow you to focus on a different aspect of the issue of personal freedoms.
· Option 1: THE GOVERNMENT: Give each group a full set of cards and ask them to consider each card in turn. Questions they should consider include:
o Which pieces of information do you think authorities such as government departments or the police might need to have and why?
o How will sharing that information help to run the country?
o Which pieces of information do you feel should remain personal, and why?
Ask the groups to present their responses to the rest of the class.
· Option 2: WHO KNOWS WHAT?: Give each group a different role of an organisation that needs to know information about members of the public, for example, a GP group, an insurance company, the Inland Revenue, the police. Considering the pieces of information on each card, ask the students to write
a list of all the information their organisation would need (and have the right)
to know, and what information they feel would be excessive. Ask each group to present back to the class, giving reasons.
· Option 3: FILL IN THE BLANKS: Give each group a full set of cards to discuss. Using the blank cards, ask the group to think of what other personal information they believe should be kept private and some that should be shared. Ask each group to present back to the class, giving reasons.
How do the question cards relate to the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012? The question cards in this resource encourage students to think about what information they believe should remain private and what should be shared, with particular reference to the Protection of Freedoms Act.
· What route do you take to school / college? Students can think about
regulation of CCTV cameras in the context of this question.
· What does your fingerprint look like? Students can think about whether organisations like schools should be able to use their biometric data.
· What is your DNA code? Students can think about whether the police should
have records of citizens’ DNA data and whether this should depend on
factors like whether they have ever been arrested for, or convicted of, a crime.
· What is in your bag / pockets? Students can think about the use of stop and search measures in the context of this question.
To find out more about the Protection of Freedoms Act, visit the online feature about personal freedoms.
When were you born? / What is your gender?Are you married? / What is your race/ethnicity?
Where do you live? / What is your DNA
code?
Which countries do you travel to? / What does your fingerprint look like?
What is your income? / What route do you take to school/college?
What shops do you buy your clothes from? / What do you do at weekends?
What do you wear? / Have you ever taken part in a protest?
Do you vote? / How much do you weigh?
Do you consider yourself to have a disability? / Do you smoke?
What internet sites have you viewed? / What is in your bag/pockets?