In this paper we discuss the social and ethical issues that arise as a result of digitization based on six dominant technologies: Internet of Things, robotics, biometrics, persuasive technology, virtual & augmented reality, and digital platforms. We highlight the many developments in the digitizing society that appear to be at odds with six recurring themes revealing from our analysis of the scientific literature on the dominant technologies: privacy, autonomy, security, human dignity, justice, and balance of power. This study shows that the new wave of digitization is putting pressure on these public values. In order to effectively shape the digital society in a socially and ethically responsible way, stakeholders need to have a clear understanding of what such issues might be. Supervision has been developed the most in the areas of privacy and data protection. For other ethical issues concerning digitization such as discrimination, autonomy, human dignity and unequal balance of power, the supervision is not as well organized.

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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop/elaborate the concept Privacy by Design (PbD) and to explore the validity of the PbD framework.Design/methodology/approachAttention for alternative concepts, such as PbD, which might offer surplus value in safeguarding privacy, is growing. Using PbD to design for privacy in ICT systems is still rather underexplored and requires substantial conceptual and empirical work to be done. The methodology includes conceptual analysis, empirical validation (focus groups and interviews) and technological testing (a technical demonstrator was build).FindingsA holistic PbD approach can offer surplus value in better safeguarding of privacy without losing functional requirements. However, the implementation is not easily realised and confronted with several difficulties such as: potential lack of economic incentives, legacy systems, lack of adoption of trust of end‐users and consumers in PbD.Originality/valueThe article brings together/incorporates several contemporary insights on privacy protection and privacy by design and develops/presents a holistic framework for Privacy by Design framework consisting of five building blocks.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to explore how innovation has become more important in information society policy and what the implications are for policy design, policy coordination and policy evaluation.Design/methodology/approach -Against the background of European information society policy, a case study is done on the policy mix for ICT innovation in The Netherlands. A highly structured qualitative methodology is developed to analyse the relevant policy instruments in information society policy and innovation policy. The methodology includes a typology for rationale, policy instruments and element of the innovation process.Findings -To a large extent, information society policy and innovation policy are complementary. There is some overlap between policy instruments. The rationale and objectives can be more explicit. The policy mix had a positive impact on information communication technology (ICT) knowledge, broadband and e-government.Originality/value -The paper presents the relevance, methods and results of a detailed study on the intersection of two policy fields: information society policy and innovation policy.

Purpose-The paper aims to report the main findings of a study for the Dutch Regulatory Authority for the Telecommunications sector OPTA to explore how the new European ''cookie rules'' in the ePrivacy Directive impact on behavioral advertising practices via the storing and reading of cookies. The paper identifies the main dilemmas with the implementation of the new European rules. The Dutch case provides a valuable reality check also outside The Netherlands. Even before the amendment of the directive, The Netherlands already had an opt-in system in place. From the Dutch experience important lessons can be learned also for other European countries. Design/methodology/approach-After a brief analysis of the legal situation in Europe and in The Netherlands (section 2), section 3 reports about the findings of a survey among the main providers of targeted advertising in The Netherlands to explore the current use of cookies and targeted advertising practices. Section 4 describes the findings of a qualitative survey among Dutch internet users with the goal to define their level of skills and knowledge, acceptance of and behavior towards the placing and reading of cookies. A concluding section (section 5) summarizes the main findings and identifies implications for the future policy debate. Findings-The results show that the majority of the surveyed parties involved in behavioral advertising do not inform users about the storing of cookies or the purposes of data processing of the subsequently obtained data, neither have they obtained users' consent for the storage of cookies. The authors also found that the majority of users lack the skills and knowledge to handle cookies. Social implications-The findings critically question the wisdom of the ''informed consent regime'' that currently lies at the heart of Europe's ePrivacy Directive. The paper concludes with reflections about the concrete policy implications of the study, and a number of concrete suggestions of how to approach the future debate with regard to the regulation of online tracking and cookies. Originality/value-The approach of the paper is original in that it combines legal analysis with two surveys: one among behavioral advertisers and one among online users. This approach permits us to better understand the efficacy of the new legal rules, to make predictions regarding the level of compliance with the new rules and identify areas in this highly topical debate that require further attention.