Lists of Ethical, Legal, Societal and Economic Issues of Big Data Technologies

Abstract

Data-driven innovation is deeply transforming society and the economy. Although there are potentially enormous economic and social benefits this innovation also brings new challenges for individual and collective privacy, security, as well as democracy and participation. The main objective of the CSA e-SIDES is to complement the research on privacy-preserving big data technologies, by analyzing, mapping and clearly identifying the main societal and ethical challenges emerging from the adoption of big data technologies, conforming to the principles of responsible research and innovation; setting up and organizing a sustainable dialogue between industry, research and social actors, as well as networking with the main Research and Innovation Actions and Large Scale Pilots and other framework program projects interested in these issues. It will investigate stakeholders' concerns, and collect their input, framing these results in a clear conceptual framework showing the potential trade-offs between conflicting needs and providing a basis to validate privacy-preserving technologies. It will prepare and widely disseminate community shared conclusions and recommendations highlighting the best way to ultimately build confidence of citizens and businesses towards big data and the data economy. Second, the legal perspective focuses on the lists of human rights derived from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (the EU Charter), which together constitute the main legal framework for the EU in the field of human rights. The rights of particular relevance in the context of big data technologies are the rights to private and family life, personal data protection, freedom of expression and information, freedom of assembly and association, nondiscrimination, fair trial and consumer protection. By analysing the normative scope of each of these human rights, looking at both legislation and case law of the European courts and the way in which big data technologies challenge different aspects of each human right at stake, the legal part distils the list of the most relevant issues at the nexus of big data technologies and human rights in the EU. The legal issues identified are: lack of transparency, vagueness of the concept of harm, accountability, proportionality, establishing a regulatory framework and the role of private actors in applying fundamental rights.Third, the societal perspective makes use of the extensive literature on Societal Impact Assessments (SIA). The analysis of literature was combined with a review of research project propositions and complemented by discussions at two workshops. Societal impact is very generally understood as changes to one or more of a number of elements of social life: people's way of life, their culture, their community, their political systems, their environment, their health and well-being, their personal and property and their fears and aspirations. The societal issues are mapped by examining different actors and distinctions between thes...

The Personality Panorama: Conceptualizing Personality through Big Behavioural Data

“…Matters of ‘personality privacy’ are critical not just because they involve values that are deeply felt by many around us, but also because threats to privacy have a range of social and ethical consequences (see Custers et al, 2017 for a comprehensive treatment). If personality includes identity and reputation (Hogan, Hogan, & Roberts, 1996; McAbee & Connelly, 2016), then an increase in the sphere of reputation implies a reduction in the private and personal.…”

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Reassessing values for emerging big data technologies: integrating design-based and application-based approaches

“…The findings in this paper are based on the preliminary results of a project funded by the European Commission (Custers et al 2017). This project, called e-SIDES has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No.…”