Skip to Content

IAPP CIPT: How Should Privacy Technologist Respond to Potentially Unethical Technology Adoption?

Discover the appropriate response for a privacy technologist when faced with potentially unethical technology adoption. Learn how to mitigate identified privacy risks through technical measures in this IAPP CIPT exam question.

Table of Contents

Question

A company is looking to adopt new technology which the privacy technologist on the project believes may be unethical from a privacy standpoint. How should the privacy technologist respond?

A. Stop the project by exercising veto rights.
B. Implement privacy technical measures to help mitigate the identified privacy risks.
C. Advise the project team about legal mechanisms it could adopt to manage the ethical considerations.
D. Perform an audit of privacy controls post implementation to show leadership how unethical the project actually was.

Answer

B. Implement privacy technical measures to help mitigate the identified privacy risks.

Explanation

When a privacy technologist believes that a new technology being adopted by a company may be unethical from a privacy standpoint, their primary responsibility is to address and mitigate the identified privacy risks. Implementing privacy technical measures is the most appropriate course of action in this situation.

Here’s why:

  1. Mitigation, not veto: While the privacy technologist may have concerns about the technology’s ethical implications, they do not typically have the authority to unilaterally stop the project (Option A). Instead, their role is to identify and mitigate potential privacy risks.
  2. Technical measures: As a privacy technologist, their expertise lies in implementing technical solutions to address privacy concerns (Option B). This may include measures such as data encryption, access controls, data minimization, or anonymization techniques to reduce the impact of the identified risks.
  3. Advising, not dictating legal mechanisms: Although the privacy technologist can advise the project team about legal considerations (Option C), it is not their primary responsibility to dictate legal mechanisms for managing ethical concerns. This falls under the purview of legal professionals.
  4. Proactive, not reactive: Conducting a post-implementation audit (Option D) to demonstrate the project’s unethical nature is a reactive approach. Instead, the privacy technologist should proactively work to mitigate risks during the project’s development and implementation phases.

In summary, when faced with potentially unethical technology adoption, the privacy technologist’s role is to identify and mitigate privacy risks through the implementation of appropriate technical measures. This proactive approach ensures that privacy concerns are addressed effectively while allowing the project to proceed with reduced risk.

IAPP CIPT certification exam assessment practice question and answer (Q&A) dump including multiple choice questions (MCQ) and objective type questions, with detail explanation and reference available free, helpful to pass the IAPP CIPT exam and earn IAPP CIPT certification.