The main data dilemmas are bias, reliability, integrity, privacy, anonymity, surveillance, security, ownership, control and access. In IB Digital Society, they arise because people and institutions decide what data is collected, how it is processed and how it is used, creating unequal benefits and harms.
This is Data 3.1I: Data dilemmas, shared by SL and HL. The issues interact: biased collection can produce unreliable information, while extensive collection may improve services but reduce privacy.
| Data dilemma | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Bias, reliability and integrity | Missing groups, errors or manipulation can produce discriminatory decisions or misleading conclusions. |
| Privacy and anonymity | Personal data can reveal identity, behaviour or location. Combining datasets may re-identify supposedly anonymous people. |
| Surveillance | Monitoring location, browsing or camera data may support security, but can restrict autonomy and expression. |
| Ownership, control and access | Disagreement over who owns, uses, corrects or deletes data can concentrate power. |
| Security | Breaches and poor storage expose sensitive information; stronger protection may increase costs or reduce convenience. |
System: Facebook collected and distributed user data. Example specifics: In the Cambridge Analytica case, revealed in 2018, data linked to millions of Facebook profiles was obtained through an app and used for political profiling without informed consent from many affected users.
Impacts and implications: Users lost control over personal data, and political microtargeting raised concerns about manipulation and democratic participation. Going forward, the case created risks of continued voter profiling but opportunities for stronger platform accountability and data-protection regulation. Concepts: It shows unequal power between platforms and users, ethical conflict over consent, and unintended consequences within interconnected systems.
A common misconception is that data is objective. Data reflects collection methods, categories and human priorities.
Exam technique: For an explain response, link cause and consequence. For evaluate, weigh opportunities against risks for stakeholders and apply a specific real-world example.
