Lee Rainie, Director of Internet, Science, and Technology research at the Pew Research Center, presented this material on December 12, 2016 to a working group at the National Academy of Sciences. The group is exploring how to think about creating an academic discipline around "data science."

1. Ethics and Data
Lee Rainie
Director, Internet, Science, and Technology Research
Pew Research Center
Lrainie@pewresearch.org
12.12.16

2. Digital life in 2025 - Metaverse
The internet will become ‘like electricity’ —
less visible, yet more deeply embedded in
people’s lives for good and ill

3. Theme 1) Information sharing over the internet will be
effortlessly interwoven into daily life making us smarter,
safer, more efficient. ‘Computication’ involving ‘smart
agents’ will be commonplace.

4. Theme 2) Artificial intelligence, augmented reality, wearable
devices, and big data will make people more aware of
their world and their own behavior – which will especially
aid in health care.

5. Theme 3) Social and business encounters will be shaped by
virtual reality and telepresence. Interfaces with data and
objects will change and become easier. Speech and gesture
interaction will matter more

6. Why big data are different and need fresh
attention from ethics perspectives
• Volume (organic)
• Velocity (real-time)
• Variety (Internet of Things)
• Valence (give analysts more insight)
– Longitudinal
– Location specific
– Combinatorial & searchable
– “Understood” by algorithms
• Variable valuation over time (in ways not
fully known at time of collection)

7. How ethics enters the picture
Privacy = control of access
Freedom from intrusion—into the body, home, protected space
Physical security—protection from bodily harm done by intrusion
Dignity—not being subject to contacts regarded as degrading
Intimacy—the role of controlling access to the person in creating
intimate relationships
Autonomy—controlling access to the person is important to the
individual’s ability to make central choices about his/her life
Identity—protecting access is critical to individual or group
identity
Equality—ease of access to some but not to others may affect
social positions (e.g. equality of women, racial/ethnic minorities)

8. 1. The balance of
forces has shifted in
the networked
age. People are
now “public by
default and
private by effort.”
-- danah boyd

10. • Half of internet users say they worry
about the amount of information
available about them online – up from
30% in 20
• Considering the Future of Privacy,
experts argue that privacy is no longer a
“condition” of American life. Rather, it is
becoming a commodity that would be
purchased.

11. Implications for big data
• Americans want data-sharing arrangements to be
secure
• If security is breached, Americans would like
disclosure mechanisms to be clear and swift
• Americans would like to know if re-identification
processes have compromised their identities
• They would appreciate a process to gain redress
from harms caused by data breaches or re-
identification efforts

12. 2. Privacy is not binary / context matters and
many are in transactional frame of mind

15. Implications for big data
• Americans are not instinctively opposed to
data collection and use. They want to
understand the tradeoffs.
• This puts some burden on big data analysts to
make the case for their work and the benefits
that will emerge from it.

16. 3. Personal control / agency matters

19. Implications for big data
• Consent is so context specific, it is hard to
know for certain how to apply it for non-
obvious uses of the data post facto
• Would “due process” mechanisms be better
suited?
• Would “participatory consent” be possible?

20. 4. Many know they do not
know what is going on ….
Those who know the most
are more worried
and wary

22. Implications for big data
• People do not like surprises and will be
unhappy if their data were used in ways they
did not anticipate or that seem “out of the
blue”
• Is a re-consent process possible?

23. 5. Many are resigned – some are even hopeless –
and their trust is fading

24. How confident are you that your records at
these places will remain private and secure?
76%
69%
66%
61%
57%
56%
55%
54%
50%
46%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Online advertisers
Social media
Search engines
Retailers
Email provider
Cell telephone
Government agencies
Cable TV
Landline telephone
Credit card
Not too confident / Not at all confident

25. Implications for big data
• Transparency (including about data transfers)
• Consider new, networked trust-building
mechanisms
– Third party validation
– Updated ethics codes
– “Hold harmless” mechanisms?
• Algorithmic validation / replication

26. (1) Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights (2) OECD Fair Information Practice Principles
2013
Transparency: easily understandable and
accessible information about privacy and
security practices
Openness Principle: companies should be
open about their practices and policies
related to personal data
Individual Control: consumers have a right
to exercise control over what personal
data companies collect from them and
how they use it
Use Limitation Principle: personal data
should not be disclosed without consumer
consent except when authorized by law
Respect for Context: users have a right to
expect that companies will collect, use,
and disclose personal data in ways that are
consistent with the context in which
consumers provide the data
Purpose Specification Principle: companies
should specify the reasons why data are
collected no later than the time of
collection, and the uses of data should be
compatible with the stated reason for data
collection
Focused Collection: users have a right to
reasonable limits on the personal data that
companies collect and retain
Collection Limitation Principle: there
should be limits on the amount of personal
data collected and, where appropriate, the
company should receive consumer consent

27. Security: users have right to secure and
responsible handling of personal data
Security Safeguards Principle: personal data
should be reasonably protected against risks
such as loss or unauthorized access,
destruction, use, modification, or disclosure of
data
Access and Accuracy: user have right to access
and correct personal data in usable formats, in
a manner that is appropriate to the sensitivity
of the data and the risk of adverse
consequences to consumers if the data are
inaccurate
Individual Participation Principle: consumers
should be able to receive confirmation that an
entity controls their personal data, and they
should be able to access their data within a
reasonable time, in a practical manner, and in
an intelligible form
Data Quality Principle: personal data should be
relevant to the purposes for which they are
used, and, to the extent necessary for those
purposes, the data should be accurate and kept
up-to-date
Accountability: users can expect that their
personal data will be handled only by
companies with appropriate measures in place
to ensure they follow the Consumer Bill of
Rights
Accountability Principle: entities that control
data should ensure the compliance the other
principles
(1) Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights (continued) (2) OECD Fair Information Practice Principles
2013 (continued)

28. New Deal on Data
MIT’s Sandy Pentland
1. You have the right to possess data about
yourself
2. You have the right to full control over your
data
3. You have the right to dispose of or distribute
your data

29. Thank you!
Lee Rainie
lrainie@pewresearch.org
@lrainie
@pewinternet
@pewresearch

30. Sources
• The State of Privacy in America: What we learned
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/01/20/the-state-of-privacy-in-america/
• Privacy and Information Sharing
http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/01/14/privacy-and-information-sharing/
• Americans’ Attitudes About Privacy, Security and Surveillance
http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/05/20/americans-attitudes-about-privacy-security-and-surveillance/
• Americans’ Privacy Strategies Post-Snowden
http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/03/16/americans-privacy-strategies-post-snowden/
• Public Perceptions of Privacy and Security in the Post-Snowden Era
http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/11/12/public-privacy-perceptions/
• The Future of Privacy
http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/12/18/future-of-privacy/
• Anonymity, Privacy, and Security Online
http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/09/05/anonymity-privacy-and-security-online/
• More Support for Justice Department Than for Apple in Dispute Over Unlocking iPhone
http://www.people-press.org/2016/02/22/more-support-for-justice-department-than-for-apple-in-dispute-over-unlocking-iphone/