Global data justice in the era of big data: toward an inclusive framing of informational rights and freedoms

Project Information

DATAJUSTICE

Grant agreement ID: 757247

DOI

10.3030/757247

Project closed

EC signature date 28 February 2018

Start date 1 March 2018

End date 28 February 2023

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)

Total cost

€ 1 495 986,00

EU contribution

€ 1 495 986,00

Coordinated by

TILBURG UNIVERSITY- UNIVERSITEIT VAN TILBURG
Netherlands

Periodic Reporting for period 4 - DATAJUSTICE (Global data justice in the era of big data: toward an inclusive framing of informational rights and freedoms)

Reporting period: 2022-09-01 to 2023-02-28

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The Global Data Justice project (2018-2023) aims to understand the different perspectives worldwide on what constitutes the just governance of data technologies. The project incorporates ethnographic perspectives on data governance, focusing on institutions which play a role in determining how data technologies are adopted and implemented at the international and national level in different regions globally. The objective is to understand what people's subjective needs are with respect to data technologies in different regions and contexts. Fieldwork focuses principally on applications in Kenya, Singapore and in the humanitarian sector. The project is grounded in the proposition that an overarching data governance framework on the international level must urgently be developed, and that such a framework must answer social justice, as well as economic, needs. Its two main aims are: first, to provide the first critical assessment of the case for, and the obstacles to, a social-justice-informed overall framework for data technologies’ design and governance. Second, to present a conceptual framework for data justice, refining it through public debate. The second part of the project therefore involves forming a framework for data governance based on the conclusions from the fieldwork and desk research stage, and working on this collaboratively with communities and policymakers in different regions worldwide.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Work has proceeded so far on three case studies and one subproject:
Case Study 1 - field research in Kenya focusing on a) biometric systems in civil registration and health contexts, and b) Fintech mobile platforms. The research involves focus groups and individual interviews, as well as policy and legal analysis.
Case Study 2 – field research in Singapore has a policy and corporate entity focus and includes observation in policy and legal fora, as well as interviews with key informants involved in developing and shaping Singapore’s data economy.
Case Study 3 – involves following the processes of guideline and standard-setting in the humanitarian sector, looking mainly at ID, fintech and mobile technologies.
Web Tracking Subproject – this project involves browser-based tests in more than 50 countries around the world to test which trackers load on domestic websites in each country. The aim is to understand the dimensions of the global data market and to conduct the first global analysis of different ecosystems within the larger market. The results of the study will be released as open data for the research community and will offer new methodologies and ideas for how to study under-researched aspects of the data market.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The fieldwork team members have conducted has led to new insights on data governance that are both regionally comparative and interdisciplinary. We have conducted international meetings and published findings where we work to connect our findings on identification technologies, biometrics and their economic ecologies across regions and sectors in order to produce new theoretical and practical insights on how to govern these applications.

The project has also resulted in the establishment of a subproject to conduct a study of the data market that goes beyond the state of the art by including a range of countries from high to low income, and by working across linguistic and economic blocs. We expect this study to offer new (open) data for researchers in the field of web metrics that will for the first time allow global comparison of the data market.

In 2020 the project published the first (open-access) book comprising different country and regional perspectives on how the Covid-19 pandemic affects governance through technology. This publication brings together a global network of scholars, journalists and activists working on diverse topics, focusing in on how the state of emergency in different countries affects the development and implementation of technologies of control and surveillance.

We expect the current data analysis phase (2020-21) to lead into a two-year dissemination phase during which we will focus on formulating our findings so that they are useful to civil society organisations dealing with data governance around the world, and conducting dissemination events with our network of CSO’s in different regions to discuss our findings and shape our conclusions. We have established a strong network focusing on two dimensions: international reach and interdisciplinary communication. We will continue to work on building this network during 2021, and expect it to be both an output of our research, and a resource for the dissemination phase.

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