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Islam M, Valiani AA, Datta R, Chowdhury M, Turin TC. Ethical and Equitable Digital Health Research: Ensuring Self-Determination in Data Governance for Racialized Communities. Camb Q Healthc Ethics 2024:1-11. [PMID: 38567458 DOI: 10.1017/s096318012400015x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
Recent studies highlight the need for ethical and equitable digital health research that protects the rights and interests of racialized communities. We argue for practices in digital health that promote data self-determination for these communities, especially in data collection and management. We suggest that researchers partner with racialized communities to curate data that reflects their wellness understandings and health priorities, and respects their consent over data use for policy and other outcomes. These data governance approach honors and builds on Indigenous Data Sovereignty (IDS) decolonial scholarship by Indigenous and non-indigenous researchers and its adaptations to health research involving racialized communities from former European colonies in the global South. We discuss strategies to practice equity, diversity, inclusion, accessibility and decolonization (EDIAD) principles in digital health. We draw upon and adapt the concept of Precision Health Equity (PHE) to emphasize models of data sharing that are co-defined by racialized communities and researchers, and stress their shared governance and stewardship of data that is generated from digital health research. This paper contributes to an emerging research on equity issues in digital health and reducing health, institutional, and technological disparities. It also promotes the self-determination of racialized peoples through ethical data management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mozharul Islam
- Department of Family Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
- Department of Sociology, Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University, İstanbul, Türkiye
| | - Arafaat A Valiani
- Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
- Department of History, Department of Indigenous, Race and Ethnic Studies, Global Health Program, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA
| | - Ranjan Datta
- Canada Research Chair in Community Disaster Research at the Indigenous Studies, Department of Humanities, Mount Royal University, Calgary, Canada
| | - Mohammad Chowdhury
- Department of Family Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
- Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Tanvir C Turin
- Department of Family Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
- Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
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Greenbaum D. Data geopolitics Data Sovereignty: From the Digital Silk Road to the Return of the State Anupam Chander and Haochen Sun, Eds. Oxford University Press, 2023. 408 pp. Science 2023; 382:1366. [PMID: 38127766 DOI: 10.1126/science.adm9960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
A group of scholars explore the implications of how governments control and restrict digital information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dov Greenbaum
- The reviewer is at the Zvi Meitar Institute for Legal Implications of Emerging Technologies and Harry Radzyner Law School, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel, and Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
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3
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Molina JL, Tubaro P, Casilli A, Santos-Ortega A. Research Ethics in the Age of Digital Platforms. SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING ETHICS 2023; 29:17. [PMID: 37185917 PMCID: PMC10127972 DOI: 10.1007/s11948-023-00437-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2022] [Accepted: 03/30/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
Scientific research is growingly increasingly reliant on "microwork" or "crowdsourcing" provided by digital platforms to collect new data. Digital platforms connect clients and workers, charging a fee for an algorithmically managed workflow based on Terms of Service agreements. Although these platforms offer a way to make a living or complement other sources of income, microworkers lack fundamental labor rights and basic safe working conditions, especially in the Global South. We ask how researchers and research institutions address the ethical issues involved in considering microworkers as "human participants." We argue that current scientific research fails to treat microworkers in the same way as in-person human participants, producing de facto a double morality: one applied to people with rights acknowledged by states and international bodies (e.g., the Helsinki Declaration), the other to guest workers of digital autocracies who have almost no rights at all. We illustrate our argument by drawing on 57 interviews conducted with microworkers in Spanish-speaking countries.
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Affiliation(s)
- José Luis Molina
- GRAFO-Department of social and Cultural Anthropology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain.
| | - Paola Tubaro
- Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire Des Sciences du Numérique (LISN), Centre National de La Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Paris-Saclay, Inria, France
| | - Antonio Casilli
- School of Telecommunications, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, Telecom Paris, France
| | - Antonio Santos-Ortega
- Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, Universitat de València, Valencia, Spain
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Sovereignty in the Digital and Contact Tracing Apps. DIGITAL SOCIETY : ETHICS, SOCIO-LEGAL AND GOVERNANCE OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY 2023; 2:2. [PMID: 36590274 PMCID: PMC9791621 DOI: 10.1007/s44206-022-00030-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2022] [Accepted: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Recently, the concept of sovereignty in the digital has attracted much attention. Several publications dealing with this concept assume that it can best be described as a network of different, overlapping exercises of power. Nevertheless, there is a need for further research on how exactly sovereignty in the digital can be understood. In order to contribute to a better understanding of this concept, I illustrate its complex structure using contact tracing apps as a paradigmatic example. I conduct a narrative review to show what sovereignty looks like in the context of these apps. In the context of digital contact tracing apps, sovereignty is best understood as a complex network of three actors-nations, (big tech) companies, and individuals-that exercise various forms of power against or on behalf of each other to claim sovereignty for themselves and to either weaken or strengthen the sovereignty claims of other actors. Since large parts of the results can be generalized from the particular context of contact tracing apps, they contribute to a better overall understanding of the concept of sovereignty in digital. This might, in turn, be helpful for discussions about this technology as well as about the regulation and governance of the digital in general.
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Leading the Charge on Digital Regulation: The More, the Better, or Policy Bubble? DIGITAL SOCIETY : ETHICS, SOCIO-LEGAL AND GOVERNANCE OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY 2023; 2:4. [PMID: 36686333 PMCID: PMC9844176 DOI: 10.1007/s44206-023-00033-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 01/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
For about a decade, the concept of 'digital sovereignty' has been prominent in the European policy discourse. In the quest for digital sovereignty, the European Union has adopted a constitutional approach to protect fundamental rights and democratic values, and to ensure fair and competitive digital markets. Thus, 'digital constitutionalism' emerged as a twin discourse. A corollary of these discourses is a third phenomenon resulting from a regulatory externalisation of European law beyond the bloc's borders, the so-called 'Brussels Effect'. The dynamics arising from Europe's digital policy and regulatory activism imply increasing legal complexities. This paper argues that this phenomenon in policy-making is a case of a positive 'policy bubble' characterised by an oversupply of policies and legislative acts. The phenomenon can be explained by the amplification of values in the framing of digital policy issues. To unpack the policy frames and values at stake, this paper provides an overview of the digital policy landscape, followed by a critical assessment to showcase the practical implications of positive policy bubbles.
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Buesching FB, Steininger DM, Veit DJ. Governing digital crisis responses: platform standards and the dilemma of COVID-19 contact tracing. JOURNAL OF BUSINESS ECONOMICS 2022; 93:267-323. [PMID: 38013850 PMCID: PMC9672648 DOI: 10.1007/s11573-022-01118-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
In response to the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic, various developers turned to smartphone-based contact tracing to address the challenges of manual tracing. Due to the presence of network effects, i.e., the effectiveness of contact tracing applications increases with the number of users, information technology standards were critical to the technology's success. The standardization efforts in Europe led to a variety of trade-offs concerning the choice of an appropriate technological architecture due to the contradictory tensions resulting from the dualism between the need for contact tracing data to contain the pandemic and the need for data minimization to preserve user privacy. Drawing predominantly on the software platform and standards literature, we conduct an interpretive case study to examine the emergence and consequences of this multi-layered decision situation. Our findings reveal how Google and Apple were able to limit the individual leeway of external developers, thereby effectively resolving the European standards war. Furthermore, we identify and discuss the various short-term and long-term trade-offs associated with the standardization of contact tracing applications and translate our findings into recommendations for policy makers with respect to future crisis situations. Specifically, we propose a strategy grounded in our data that enables responsible actors to make goal-oriented and rapid decisions under time constraints.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix B. Buesching
- University of Augsburg, Universitaetsstrasse 16, 86159 Augsburg, Germany
| | - Dennis M. Steininger
- University of Kaiserslautern, Kurt-Schumacher-Strasse 74a, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany
| | - Daniel J. Veit
- University of Augsburg, Universitaetsstrasse 16, 86159 Augsburg, Germany
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Zichichi M, Ferretti S, Rodríguez-Doncel V. Decentralized Personal Data Marketplaces: How Participation in a DAO Can Support the Production of Citizen-Generated Data. SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 22:6260. [PMID: 36016019 PMCID: PMC9413143 DOI: 10.3390/s22166260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2022] [Revised: 08/08/2022] [Accepted: 08/16/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Big Tech companies operating in a data-driven economy offer services that rely on their users' personal data and usually store this personal information in "data silos" that prevent transparency about their use and opportunities for data sharing for public interest. In this paper, we present a solution that promotes the development of decentralized personal data marketplaces, exploiting the use of Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs), Decentralized File Storages (DFS) and smart contracts for storing personal data and managing access control in a decentralized way. Moreover, we focus on the issue of a lack of efficient decentralized mechanisms in DLTs and DFSs for querying a certain type of data. For this reason, we propose the use of a hypercube-structured Distributed Hash Table (DHT) on top of DLTs, organized for efficient processing of multiple keyword-based queries on the ledger data. We test our approach with the implementation of a use case regarding the creation of citizen-generated data based on direct participation and the involvement of a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO). The performance evaluation demonstrates the viability of our approach for decentralized data searches, distributed authorization mechanisms and smart contract exploitation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirko Zichichi
- Ontology Engineering Group, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Stefano Ferretti
- Department of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Urbino “Carlo Bo”, 61029 Urbino, Italy
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8
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Marelli L, Kieslich K, Geiger S. COVID-19 and techno-solutionism: responsibilization without contextualization? CRITICAL PUBLIC HEALTH 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/09581596.2022.2029192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Luca Marelli
- Life Sciences & Society Lab, Centre for Sociological Research, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Medical Biotechnology and Translational Medicine, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | | | - Susi Geiger
- College of Business, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
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Law, Socio-Legal Governance, the Internet of Things, and Industry 4.0: A Middle-Out/Inside-Out Approach. J 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/j5010005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The Web of Data, the Internet of Things, and Industry 4.0 are converging, and society is challenged to ensure that appropriate regulatory responses can uphold the rule of law fairly and effectively in this emerging context. The challenge extends beyond merely submitting digital processes to the law. We contend that the 20th century notion of ‘legal order’ alone will not be suitable to produce the social order that the law should bring. The article explores the concepts of rule of law and of legal governance in digital and blockchain environments. We position legal governance from an empirical perspective, i.e., as an explanatory and validation concept to support the implementation of the rule of law in the new digital environments. As a novel contribution, this article (i) progresses some of the work done on the metarule of law and complements the SMART middle-out approach with an inside-out approach to digital regulatory systems and legal compliance models; (ii) sets the state-of-the-art and identifies the way to explain and validate legal information flows and hybrid agents’ behaviour; (iii) describes a phenomenological and historical approach to legal and political forms; and (iv) shows the utility of separating enabling and driving regulatory systems.
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Roberts H, Cowls J, Hine E, Mazzi F, Tsamados A, Taddeo M, Floridi L. Achieving a 'Good AI Society': Comparing the Aims and Progress of the EU and the US. SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING ETHICS 2021; 27:68. [PMID: 34767085 PMCID: PMC8587491 DOI: 10.1007/s11948-021-00340-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2021] [Accepted: 09/10/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Over the past few years, there has been a proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) strategies, released by governments around the world, that seek to maximise the benefits of AI and minimise potential harms. This article provides a comparative analysis of the European Union (EU) and the United States' (US) AI strategies and considers (i) the visions of a 'Good AI Society' that are forwarded in key policy documents and their opportunity costs, (ii) the extent to which the implementation of each vision is living up to stated aims and (iii) the consequences that these differing visions of a 'Good AI Society' have for transatlantic cooperation. The article concludes by comparing the ethical desirability of each vision and identifies areas where the EU, and especially the US, need to improve in order to achieve ethical outcomes and deepen cooperation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huw Roberts
- Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, 1 St Giles', Oxford, OX1 3JS, UK
| | - Josh Cowls
- Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, 1 St Giles', Oxford, OX1 3JS, UK
- Alan Turing Institute, British Library, 96 Euston Rd, London, NW1 2DB, UK
| | - Emmie Hine
- Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, 1 St Giles', Oxford, OX1 3JS, UK
| | - Francesca Mazzi
- Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, 1 St Giles', Oxford, OX1 3JS, UK
- Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, Park End St, Oxford, OX1 1HP, UK
| | - Andreas Tsamados
- Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, 1 St Giles', Oxford, OX1 3JS, UK
| | - Mariarosaria Taddeo
- Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, 1 St Giles', Oxford, OX1 3JS, UK
- Alan Turing Institute, British Library, 96 Euston Rd, London, NW1 2DB, UK
| | - Luciano Floridi
- Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, 1 St Giles', Oxford, OX1 3JS, UK.
- Alan Turing Institute, British Library, 96 Euston Rd, London, NW1 2DB, UK.
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Abstract
New data-driven technologies in global cities have yielded potential but also have intensified techno-political concerns. Consequently, in recent years, several declarations/manifestos have emerged across the world claiming to protect citizens’ digital rights. In 2018, Barcelona, Amsterdam, and NYC city councils formed the Cities’ Coalition for Digital Rights (CCDR), an international alliance of global People-Centered Smart Cities—currently encompassing 49 cities worldwide—to promote citizens’ digital rights on a global scale. People-centered smart cities programme is the strategic flagship programme by UN-Habitat that explicitly advocates the CCDR as an institutionally innovative and strategic city-network to attain policy experimentation and sustainable urban development. Against this backdrop and being inspired by the popular quote by Hannah Arendt on “the right to have rights”, this article aims to explore what “digital rights” may currently mean within a sample consisting of 13 CCDR global people-centered smart cities: Barcelona, Amsterdam, NYC, Long Beach, Toronto, Porto, London, Vienna, Milan, Los Angeles, Portland, San Antonio, and Glasgow. Particularly, this article examines the (i) understanding and the (ii) prioritisation of digital rights in 13 cities through a semi-structured questionnaire by gathering 13 CCDR city representatives/strategists’ responses. These preliminary findings reveal not only distinct strategies but also common policy patterns.
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Abstract
Against the widespread assumption that data are the oil of the 21st century, this article offers an alternative conceptual framework, interpretation, and pathway around data and smart city nexus to subvert surveillance capitalism in light of emerging and further promising practical cases. This article illustrates an open debate in data governance and the data justice field related to current trends and challenges in smart cities, resulting in a new approach advocated for and recently coined by the UN-Habitat programme ‘People-Centred Smart Cities’. Particularly, this feature article sheds light on two intertwined notions that articulate the technopolitical dimension of the ‘People-Centred Smart Cities’ approach: data co-operatives and data sovereignty. Data co-operatives are emerging as a way to share and own data through peer-to-peer (p2p) repositories and data sovereignty is being claimed as a digital right for communities/citizens. Consequently, this feature article aims to open up new research avenues around ‘People-Centred Smart Cities’ approach: First, it elucidates how data co-operatives through data sovereignty could be articulated as long as co-developed with communities connected to the long history and analysis of the various forms of co-operatives (technopolitical dimension). Second, it prospectively anticipates the city–regional dimension encompassing data colonialism and data devolution.
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Abstract
AbstractThis short theoretical and argumentative essay contributes to the ongoing deliberation about the so-called digitalfug sovereignty, as pursued particularly in the European Union (EU). Drawing from classical political science literature, the essay approaches the debate through paradoxes that arise from applying classical notions of sovereignty to the digital domain. With these paradoxes and a focus on the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, the essay develops a viewpoint distinct from the conventional territorial notion of sovereignty. Accordingly, the lesson from Westphalia has more to do with the capacity of a state to govern. It is also this capacity that is argued to enable the sovereignty of individuals within the digital realm. With this viewpoint, the essay further advances another, broader, and more pressing debate on politics and democracy in the digital era.
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Floridi L. The European Legislation on AI: a Brief Analysis of its Philosophical Approach. PHILOSOPHY & TECHNOLOGY 2021; 34:215-222. [PMID: 34104628 PMCID: PMC8174763 DOI: 10.1007/s13347-021-00460-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2021] [Accepted: 05/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Luciano Floridi
- Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, 1 St Giles, Oxford, OX1 3JS UK
- The Alan Turing Institute, 96 Euston Road, London, NW1 2DB UK
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van Basshuysen P, White L. [On the ethics of corona apps]. Ethik Med 2021; 33:387-400. [PMID: 33967396 PMCID: PMC8086970 DOI: 10.1007/s00481-021-00629-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2020] [Accepted: 03/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
Zu Beginn der Pandemie im Frühjahr 2020, und nach einem weitreichenden Lockdown, ruhten große Erwartungen auf Corona-Warn-Apps, um einen erneuten Lockdown zu verhindern. Diese Erwartungen haben sich nicht erfüllt; stattdessen wurden in Deutschland als Reaktion auf erneute Wellen von COVID-19 weitere Kontaktbeschränkungen verordnet. Wie hätte die digitale Kontaktverfolgung wirksamer gestaltet werden können? Wir argumentieren, dass es ein Spannungsfeld zwischen der Datensparsamkeit und einer wirksamen Bekämpfung der Pandemie besteht. Im Gegensatz zur deutschen Corona-Warn-App wäre eine Variante der App, in der pseudonymisierte Kennungen zentral gespeichert werden, in der Lage gewesen, die Effektivität der Kontaktverfolgung entscheidend zu erhöhen. Schließlich argumentieren wir, dass das Spannungsfeld zwischen Datensparsamkeit und einer wirksamen Pandemiebekämpfung sich jedoch nicht in einen Wertekonflikt übersetzt, weil zentrale Systeme uns trotz ihrer erhöhten Wirksamkeit nicht vor deutlich gravierendere Probleme beim Datenschutz stellen als dezentrale Systeme. Zentrale Möglichkeiten der digitalen Kontaktverfolgung wären daher ethisch gerechtfertigt, um auf weitere Wellen von COVID-19 oder auf zukünftige Epidemien effektiv zu reagieren.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philippe van Basshuysen
- Institut für Philosophie, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Im Moore 21, 30167 Hannover, Deutschland
| | - Lucie White
- Institut für Philosophie, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Im Moore 21, 30167 Hannover, Deutschland
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Floridi L. Trump, Parler, and Regulating the Infosphere as Our Commons. PHILOSOPHY & TECHNOLOGY 2021; 34:1-5. [PMID: 33717860 PMCID: PMC7937439 DOI: 10.1007/s13347-021-00446-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2021] [Accepted: 02/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Luciano Floridi
- Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, 1 St Giles, Oxford, OX1 3JS UK
- The Alan Turing Institute, 96 Euston Road, London, NW1 2DB UK
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Storeng KT, de Bengy Puyvallée A. The Smartphone Pandemic: How Big Tech and public health authorities partner in the digital response to Covid-19. Glob Public Health 2021; 16:1482-1498. [PMID: 33602063 DOI: 10.1080/17441692.2021.1882530] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Digital technologies harnessed through smartphones have been deployed widely to support the response to Covid-19 internationally, often through partnerships between 'Big tech' and telecoms corporations and public health authorities. This paper provides an overview and critical analysis of the rapid rise of such new forms of public-private cooperation, focusing on their manifestation in the European region in the first phase of the pandemic. Drawing on a review of international media and documents, we discuss three main domains of public health action in which private technology companies and public health authorities have converged: contact-tracing, epidemic modelling and public health communication to manage the 'infodemic' of misinformation about the new coronavirus. Critics have raised concerns about how the digital response to Covid-19 may threaten privacy and enable greater state surveillance and control, and the possibility that semi-automated decision-making may exacerbate existing discrimination and inequalities. Our analysis extends such critiques by considering what the digital response to Covid-19 reveals about tech corporations' growing power to influence public health agendas. We discuss how they promote technical solutions to public health challenges that are politically seductive, but that have uncertain effectiveness and societal implications that warrant critical scrutiny.
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Farina M, Lavazza A. The meaning of Freedom after Covid-19. HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE LIFE SCIENCES 2021; 43:3. [PMID: 33417016 PMCID: PMC7791326 DOI: 10.1007/s40656-020-00354-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2020] [Accepted: 11/24/2020] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Many governments have seen digital health technologies as promising tools to tackle the current COVID-19 pandemic. A much-talked example in this context involves the recent deluge of digital contact tracing apps (DCT) aimed at detecting Covid-19 exposure. In this short contribution we look at the bio-political justification of this phenomenon and reflect on whether DCT apps constitute, as it is often argued, a serious potential breach of our right to privacy. Despite praising efforts attempting to develop legal and ethical frameworks for DCT apps' usage; we argue that such endeavours are not sufficient to tackle the more fundamental problem of mass surveillance, which will remain largely unaddressed unless we deal with the biopolitical arguments presented and resort to a technical and structural defence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirko Farina
- Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Universitetskaya St, 1, Innopolis, Republic of Tatarstan Russian Federation 420500
| | - Andrea Lavazza
- Centro Universitario Internazionale, Via Antonio Garbasso 42, 52100 Arezzo, AR Italy
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19
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Abstract
Many European pandemic citizens will likely be unemployed during the COVID-19 crisis. This article explores whether it is possible to alter existing data governance extractivist models to incentivize the emergence of platform and data co-operatives to protect European pandemic citizens’ labor and digital rights. As such, this article aims to decipher the rationale behind the proliferation of platform and data co-operatives by responding to how new forms of co-operatives using digital technologies can provide feasible socio-economic alternatives to improve post-COVID-19 working conditions for vulnerable or already empowered pandemic citizens. This article is structured as follows. First, the European “pandemic citizenship” term is described. Second, the rationale of this article is consequently presented. Third, the research question, two hypotheses, and the action research triangulation are described. The deployment of the triangulation methodology based on action research, mixed methods and social innovation reveals the main findings through (i) Delphi study results, (ii) a taxonomy for platform and data co-operative cases, and ultimately, (iii) fieldwork research conducted in Glasgow, Barcelona and Tallinn. This article concludes that co-operatives (platform-based or data-driven), stemming from the potential resilient response of European pandemic citizens, may currently portray a feasible alternative to data governance extractivist models.
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