The debate about security and privacy on the Internet is often extremely polarized and politicized. On one side are those who say that privacy is not something to worry about; if one has nothing to hide, one has nothing to worry about. On the other side are those who believe that online surveillance and more data will create a society of control, where all our actions and beliefs are monitored and made public. However security and privacy are not necessarily dichotomous or conflicting concerns. In this project we want to support a third, more balanced position, and provide tools that can enable a better understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of open data policies and practices, and promote the development of advanced and secure information technologies along with privacy-protection technologies to safeguard civil liberties. In this research project our goal is to find ways to afford individuals with both privacy and security.
To do so we will take an interdisciplinary approach looking at discourses on security, privacy, and open data in different data sources, from general opinions in the public sphere to technical oriented policy documents for open data. To better understand current open data practices, we will conduct interviews with key actors in this area on the local and the national level in Sweden. These interviews will inform the development of decision support tools and methods that can be applied within the context of open data policies and practices.
More specifically, our aims are to:
- analyze the discourses on security, privacy, and open data in different data sources, from general opinions in the public sphere to technical oriented policy documents for open data, and produce a tool for monitoring attitudes about privacy and security in online data.
- define a comprehensive set of policy options based upon existing policies and policy options proposed in the literature as well as from governmental institutions as well as ideas suggested in the social media space.
- develop a decision analytical framework for analyzing policy recommendations taking into consideration the various privacy and security interests at stake in open data policies and practices.
- provide an analysis of feasible and balanced security and privacy policy options under multiple criteria and stakeholders.