Societal Impacts

Digital footprints: active and passive

A digital footprint is the trail of data we leave behind when we use the Internet: websites visited, posts, comments, photos, searches, online purchases, app usage and location history. It is also called a digital tattoo, because once something is online it is very hard to erase completely.

There are two kinds:

• Active digital footprint: data we share knowingly and intentionally. Examples: a photo posted on Instagram, a comment on a YouTube video, an email sent, a form filled for a coaching class, a product review.
• Passive digital footprint: data collected without our direct knowledge or action. Examples: our IP address and location logged by a website, browsing history tracked by cookies, the time spent on each reel recorded by an app, search history used to show ads.

Why it matters: colleges, employers and even visa officers may look at a person's online presence. Data in the footprint can be misused for fraud, identity theft or targeted advertising. The footprint is stored on servers of many companies and may stay there for years.

How to manage it: think before posting; keep social-media accounts private; review app permissions; clear cookies and use privacy settings; delete unused accounts; search your own name online now and then.

Digital society, netizens and net etiquettes

A netizen (net + citizen) is anyone who uses the Internet. A good netizen follows net etiquettes (netiquette): the rules of good behaviour online.

1. Be ethical

• No copyright violation: do not download, copy or share copyrighted songs, films, books or software without permission.
• Share expertise: help others online with correct information, but only if you know the topic well.

2. Be respectful

• Respect privacy: do not share others' photos, chats or personal details without consent.
• Respect diversity: people online differ in religion, language, culture and opinions; disagree politely and avoid hurtful remarks.

3. Be responsible

• Avoid cyberbullying: never insult, threaten, mock or spread rumours about anyone.
• Don't feed the troll: a troll posts provocative comments to upset people. Do not reply; ignore, block and report.

Communication etiquettes and social media etiquettes

Communication etiquettes apply to email, chat and messages:

• Be precise: respect the receiver's time. Write a clear subject line, keep messages short, and avoid sending large attachments without need (compress or share a link instead).
• Be polite: greet properly, use respectful language, and avoid writing in ALL CAPITALS, which reads as shouting.
• Be credible: be careful about what you write; check facts before forwarding, because messages are permanent and reflect your credibility.

Social media etiquettes:

• Be secure: choose strong, different passwords; enable two-factor authentication; do not accept requests from strangers; be cautious of fake profiles; never share OTPs.
• Be careful while uploading: think before posting photos, location, school name or plans. Anything uploaded can be copied, shared and stored forever, even after deletion.
• Be reliable: do not spread unverified news or forwards; check the source.

Data protection

Data protection means safeguarding personal and sensitive data from unauthorised access, misuse, theft or loss, and respecting the privacy of the people the data is about.

Sensitive data includes biometric data (fingerprints, face), health records, financial details (bank account, card numbers), passwords, Aadhaar number, and exam or school records.

Ways to protect data:

• use strong passwords and two-factor authentication; never share OTPs or PINs;
• encrypt data and use secure (HTTPS) websites for transactions;
• keep the operating system, browser and antivirus updated;
• share only the minimum personal data needed, and read app permissions;
• take regular backups;
• log out of shared computers and avoid saving passwords on them.

Laws: most countries have data protection laws. In India, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 governs how organisations collect and use personal data, and the IT Act, 2000 deals with misuse of computer data. (The DPDP Act is extra information beyond the textbook.)

Intellectual Property Rights: copyright, patent, trademark

Intellectual property is a creation of the human mind: an invention, a story, a song, a painting, a photograph, software code, a design, a brand name or a logo. Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) are the legal rights that give the creator control over the use of their creation for a period, so that they can benefit from it.

Copyright protects creative and artistic works: books, music, films, photographs, paintings and computer programs (source code). It protects the expression of an idea, not the idea itself. Copyright arises automatically once the work is created; registration is optional. The owner alone has the right to copy, distribute, perform, adapt or sell it. In India, for most works copyright lasts for the author's lifetime plus 60 years.

Patent protects an invention: a new, useful and non-obvious product or process. Unlike copyright, a patent must be applied for and granted by the government (the Patent Office). It gives exclusive rights to make, use and sell the invention, usually for 20 years, in return for the inventor publicly disclosing how it works. After that, anyone may use it.

Trademark protects a word, name, symbol, logo, slogan or design that identifies the goods or services of a company and distinguishes them from others, for example the name and logo of a brand. ™ is used for an unregistered trademark and ® for a registered one. A registered trademark in India lasts 10 years and can be renewed indefinitely.

Violation of IPR: plagiarism, copyright infringement, trademark infringement

Plagiarism is presenting someone else's work, words or ideas as your own without giving credit. Copying paragraphs from a website into a project, using a classmate's code, or using a photo without crediting the photographer are all plagiarism. Plagiarism is unethical and is an academic offence, even if the original is free to use. It is avoided by writing in your own words and citing the source.

Copyright infringement is using copyrighted material without the owner's permission (or without paying for it), for example downloading pirated movies, photocopying a whole textbook to sell, or uploading a song to your channel. Giving credit does not remove the need for permission.

Trademark infringement is the unauthorised use of another company's trademark, or a deceptively similar one, on your products or services (for example selling shoes with a famous brand's logo).

Key difference: plagiarism is about not giving credit; copyright infringement is about not having permission. One act can be both.

Licensing and copyright

A licence is a legal document that gives permission to use a product, usually software or creative content, and sets the terms and conditions of that use. The creator keeps the copyright; the licence says what the user may and may not do.

• Proprietary licence: the software is owned by a company, the source code is secret, and the user may only use it as allowed (often only on a set number of devices); copying or modifying is prohibited. The user usually accepts an EULA (End User Licence Agreement) during installation. Examples: Microsoft Windows, Adobe Photoshop.
• Free / open licences: allow users to use, copy, modify and share, with some conditions. Examples are the GPL, Apache licence and Creative Commons licences.
• Copyleft: a licence condition that lets anyone use, modify and distribute a work, but requires that modified versions be shared under the same free terms. It uses copyright law to keep a work free. GPL is a copyleft licence.

Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), GPL and Apache

Free software is software that users are free to run, study, change and share. "Free" here means freedom ("free as in free speech, not as in free lunch"); it may even be sold. Open source software is software whose source code is publicly available for anyone to read, modify and redistribute. The two ideas overlap, so together they are called FOSS (Free and Open Source Software), also FLOSS (Free/Libre and Open Source Software).

Examples of FOSS: Linux (Ubuntu, BOSS Linux developed in India), LibreOffice, Mozilla Firefox, Python, MySQL Community Edition, GIMP, VLC media player, Moodle.

Advantages: no or low licence cost; source code can be studied and customised; large community support; no vendor lock-in; good for learning and for government use.

Freeware is different: it costs nothing but its source code is not available and it may not be modified. Examples: Adobe Acrobat Reader, the Zoom app. Shareware is software given free for a trial period after which payment is required.

GNU GPL (General Public License): written by Richard Stallman for the Free Software Foundation's GNU Project. Anyone may use, modify and distribute GPL software (even for a fee), but any modified version that is distributed must also be released under the GPL with its source code (copyleft). Linux is released under the GPL.

Apache License: a permissive free licence from the Apache Software Foundation. Users may use, modify and distribute the software, even in closed-source commercial products, provided they keep the copyright and licence notices. Unlike GPL, it does not force modified versions to stay open.

Creative Commons licences

Creative Commons (CC) is a non-profit organisation that provides free, ready-made public licences that creators can attach to their works (photos, music, articles, videos, educational material) to say in advance how others may use them. GPL is mainly for software; CC is mainly for creative content.

CC licences are built from four conditions:

• BY (Attribution): you must credit the creator. Every CC licence includes BY.
• SA (ShareAlike): if you adapt the work, you must share your version under the same licence.
• NC (NonCommercial): you may not use the work for commercial purposes.
• ND (NoDerivatives): you may share only the original; no changes or adaptations.

The six licences, from most to least permissive: CC BY, CC BY-SA, CC BY-NC, CC BY-NC-SA, CC BY-ND, CC BY-NC-ND. Separately, CC0 places a work in the public domain, giving up all rights (no attribution needed).

Wikipedia text is under CC BY-SA, so anyone may reuse it with credit, but changed versions must also be CC BY-SA.

Cybercrime and hacking

Cybercrime is any criminal or illegal activity in which a computer, mobile phone or network is the tool, the target or both. Examples: hacking, phishing, identity theft, ransomware, cyberbullying, online fraud, spreading viruses, denial-of-service attacks, cyber stalking and sharing illegal content.

Hacking is gaining unauthorised access to a computer system or network, by finding and exploiting weaknesses in it. A person who does this is a hacker.

• Ethical hacking (white-hat hackers): done with the owner's permission to find security weaknesses so that they can be fixed before criminals exploit them. Companies hire ethical hackers and run "bug bounty" programmes. It is legal.
• Unethical hacking (black-hat hackers / crackers): done without permission with bad intent: stealing data or money, damaging systems, defacing websites or blackmail. It is a crime under the IT Act.
• Grey-hat hackers break in without permission but without harmful intent, often reporting the flaw afterwards; it is still illegal. (Enrichment)

Denial of Service (DoS) (Enrichment): flooding a server with so many requests that it cannot serve real users; when many infected computers attack together it is a DDoS.

Phishing, identity theft and ransomware

Phishing is a fraud in which the attacker sends a fake email, SMS or message that looks like it comes from a trusted source (a bank, CBSE, a delivery company, a government scheme) to trick the user into clicking a link and entering passwords, OTPs or card details on a fake website, or into downloading malware. Variants: vishing (voice calls, e.g. a fake "bank officer" asking for an OTP) and smishing (SMS).

Signs of phishing: urgent or threatening tone ("your account will be blocked today"); offers that are too good to be true (prizes, lottery, scholarships); spelling mistakes; sender address or link that does not match the real organisation (sbi-kyc-update.xyz instead of onlinesbi.sbi); requests for OTP, PIN or password, which genuine banks never ask for.

Identity theft is stealing someone's personal information (name, Aadhaar, PAN, bank details, photos, login details) and using it to pretend to be that person, usually to commit fraud. Types:

• Financial identity theft: opening bank accounts, taking loans or making purchases in the victim's name.
• Criminal identity theft: giving the victim's identity when caught for a crime.
• Medical identity theft: using the victim's identity to get medical treatment or insurance claims.

Fake social-media profiles of a person to cheat their friends are also identity theft.

Ransomware is malicious software that encrypts the files on a computer (or locks the device) and demands a ransom, usually in cryptocurrency, to give the key to unlock them. It spreads through infected email attachments, malicious links, pirated software and unpatched systems. The WannaCry attack of 2017 hit hundreds of thousands of computers in about 150 countries, including India. Paying does not guarantee the data will be returned. Best protection: regular offline backups, updated software and antivirus, and not opening unknown attachments.

Cyberbullying and preventing cybercrime

Cyberbullying is using digital technology (social media, messaging apps, gaming chats) to harass, threaten, insult, humiliate or embarrass someone. Examples: posting rude comments or memes about a classmate, spreading rumours, sharing someone's private photos, excluding someone from a group on purpose, creating a fake profile to mock someone, and sending threatening messages. Because it can happen at any hour and reach a large audience quickly, it can seriously harm the victim's mental health.

If you are bullied: do not reply or retaliate; take screenshots as evidence; block and report the bully on the platform; tell a parent, teacher or counsellor; report serious cases to the police.

Preventing cybercrime (good practices for everyone):

• Use strong, unique passwords and two-factor authentication; never share OTPs.
• Keep the operating system, apps and antivirus updated; turn on the firewall.
• Do not open unknown links or attachments; check the URL and the padlock (https) before entering details.
• Download apps and software only from official sources; avoid pirated software.
• Take regular backups.
• Do not use public Wi-Fi for banking; log out of shared computers.
• Report cybercrime at the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal cybercrime.gov.in or call the national helpline 1930 (especially for financial fraud, as soon as possible).

Cyber laws and the Indian IT Act, 2000

Cyber law is the part of law that deals with the Internet, computers, digital data, e-commerce and cybercrime. India's main cyber law is the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act). It came into force on 17 October 2000 and was amended in 2008 (the amendment came into force in 2009) to deal with newer crimes.

Main provisions:

• gives legal recognition to electronic records and electronic transactions (e-commerce);
• gives legal recognition to digital signatures and provides for Certifying Authorities, regulated by the Controller of Certifying Authorities (CCA), which issue Digital Signature Certificates;
• defines cybercrimes and their penalties: tampering with source code, hacking, damage to computer systems, identity theft, cheating by impersonation, violation of privacy, cyber terrorism and publishing obscene content;
• provides for adjudicating officers and an appellate tribunal (originally the Cyber Appellate Tribunal, whose work has since moved to TDSAT) to settle disputes.

The 2008 amendment added offences such as identity theft (Section 66C), cheating by personation using a computer (66D), violation of privacy (66E) and cyber terrorism (66F), and introduced the concept of electronic signatures. Section 66A of the amended Act (about offensive messages) was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2015 (Shreya Singhal v. Union of India) for violating freedom of speech.

E-waste: hazards

E-waste (electronic waste) is discarded electrical and electronic equipment: old computers, monitors, mobile phones, chargers, batteries, printers, TVs, refrigerators and their parts. It is one of the fastest-growing kinds of waste in the world, and India is among the largest producers.

E-waste contains valuable materials (gold, silver, copper) but also toxic substances: lead, mercury, cadmium, beryllium, chromium, arsenic, and brominated flame retardants in plastics. When it is dumped in landfills or burnt in the open, or broken by hand in unsafe informal recycling, these substances escape.

Impact on the environment

• Soil: heavy metals leach into the soil and make it unfit for crops; they enter the food chain.
• Water: toxic chemicals seep into groundwater, rivers and ponds, harming aquatic life and drinking water.
• Air: burning cables and circuit boards to recover metal releases toxic fumes and dioxins; dust from shredding pollutes the air.

Impact on human health

• Lead: damages the nervous system, kidneys and brain development in children.
• Mercury: harms the brain, kidneys and nervous system.
• Cadmium: damages kidneys and bones; can cause cancer.
• Beryllium: causes lung disease and lung cancer.
• Burning plastics (PVC) releases dioxins, linked to cancer and hormonal and reproductive problems.

Workers in informal scrap yards, often including children, face the greatest risk.

E-waste: management

The goal is to keep e-waste out of landfills and open burning. The main methods follow the 3 Rs, plus repair and safe recycling:

• Reduce: buy only what is needed; choose durable, repairable devices; do not replace a working phone just for a new model.
• Reuse: use a device longer; refurbish or repair it; donate or sell working equipment to schools, NGOs or others who need it; buy refurbished goods.
• Recycle: send e-waste to authorised e-waste recyclers or collection centres, or return it through the manufacturer's take-back scheme. Recyclers safely recover metals, glass and plastics and dispose of toxic parts.

E-waste management in India

• The Environment Protection Act, 1986 is the parent law, and it follows the "polluter pays" principle: whoever causes pollution must pay to repair the damage.
• The E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2016, replaced by the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022 (in force from 1 April 2023), make producers responsible for collecting and recycling the e-waste from their products. This is called Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). Consumers must hand over e-waste only to authorised collection centres, recyclers or producers.
• The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and State Pollution Control Boards register and monitor authorised recyclers.
• The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) runs awareness programmes on e-waste.

What a student can do: keep old phones and batteries out of the dustbin; use the school's e-waste collection box; never burn or break electronic items; erase personal data before giving a device away.

Health concerns related to technology

Long, careless use of computers and phones causes physical and mental health problems. Ergonomics is the science of designing and arranging workplaces, furniture and equipment so that they are safe and comfortable for the user; good ergonomics prevents many of these problems.

Physical problems and prevention

• Eye strain / digital eye strain (dry, tired, itchy eyes, blurred vision, headache): keep the screen about an arm's length away and the top of the screen at or slightly below eye level; avoid glare; blink often; follow the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
• Neck and back pain, poor posture ("text neck" from looking down at a phone): sit straight with the back supported, feet flat on the floor, and the screen at eye level; take breaks to stretch.
• Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) and carpal tunnel syndrome in the wrists and fingers from continuous typing and mouse or phone use: keep wrists straight, use a proper keyboard and mouse height, and rest the hands.
• Hearing damage from long use of earphones at high volume: keep volume below about 60% and take breaks.
• Sleep problems: blue light and late-night scrolling disturb sleep; stop screen use an hour before bed and use night mode.
• Lack of physical activity leading to obesity and related problems.

Mental and social problems

• Internet / gaming / social-media addiction: loss of control over screen time, neglect of studies and family.
• Stress, anxiety and low self-esteem from cyberbullying, comparison with others and fear of missing out (FOMO).
• Isolation from real-life friends and activities.

Prevention: set screen-time limits, keep device-free times (meals, study), play outdoors, and seek help from parents, teachers or counsellors.

Technology, gender and disability issues

The CBSE learning outcomes for this course ask students to understand the impact of technology on society, including gender and disability issues.

Gender issues

• Fewer girls than boys choose computer science and IT careers, often because of stereotypes ("computers are for boys"), fewer role models and less access to devices at home.
• Girls and women face more online harassment and stalking, which can push them away from online spaces.
• Schools can help by encouraging girls into computing clubs and projects, providing equal lab access, and showcasing women technologists.

Disability issues

• People with disabilities may find standard devices hard to use. Assistive technologies help: screen readers (for example NVDA, a free open-source screen reader), text-to-speech and speech-to-text, screen magnifiers, Braille displays, on-screen keyboards and switch devices.
• Websites and software should be accessible: alternative text for images, captions for videos, good colour contrast, and keyboard navigation.
• Schools should provide accessible labs, software and teaching material so that every student can learn IT.