Embedding Privacy and Ethical Values in Big Data Technology

The phenomenon now commonly referred to as “Big Data” holds great promise and opportunity as a potential source of solutions to many societal ills ranging from cancer to terrorism; but it might also end up as “…a troubling manifestation of Big Brother, enabling invasions of privacy, decreased civil freedoms (and) increased state and corporate control” (Boyd & Crawford, 2012, p. 664). Discussions about the use of Big Data are widespread as “(d)iverse groups argue about the potential benefits and costs of analyzing genetic sequences, social media interactions, health records, phone logs, government records, and other digital traces left by people” (Boyd & Crawford, 2012, p. 662). This chapter attempts to establish guidelines for the discussion and analysis of ethical issues related to Big Data in research, particularly with respect to privacy. In doing so, it adds new dimensions to the agenda setting goal of this volume. It is intended to help researchers in all fields, as well as policy-makers, to articulate their concerns in an organized way, and to specify relevant issues for discussion, policy-making and action with respect to the ethics of Big Data. On the basis of our review of scholarly literature and our own investigations with big and small data, we have come to recognize that privacy and the great potential for privacy violations constitute major concerns in the debate about Big Data. Furthermore, our approach and our recommendations are generalizable to other ethical considerations inherent in Big Data as we illustrate in the final section of the chapter.