Abstract
In this theoretical paper, we explore Big Data ethics in the broader context of general data ethics, stakeholder groups, demand for governance and regulation, social norms, and human values. We follow and expand on the digital divide, governance, and regulatory theories, and we apply them to many levels and contexts, such as state and society, organization, enterprise governance of IT (EGIT), and data projects, among others. We introduce the new role and responsibility of data experts as an important stakeholder group in the balance of power of Big Data ethics because they simultaneously hold a position in groups of data-rich organizations and data-poor users. We argue that the balancing role of data experts consists of motivation and competence, a sense of responsibility for data ethics, and the possibility and means to influence Big Data issues. Finally, we conclude our research by model mapping the role of data experts in Big Data ethics and proposing them as a balancing power.
Highlights
In this paper, we explore Big Data ethics in the broader context of general data ethics, different stakeholder groups, demand for governance and regulation, social norms, and human values
We introduce the new role of data experts as an important stakeholder group that could be a balancing power of Big Data ethics, because they tend to simultaneously hold a position in data-rich organizations and are personally data-poor users
As part of the research for this article, we explored the Data Ethics Canvas produced by the Open Data Institute (ODI) and DEDA methodology developed at Utrecht University
Summary
We explore Big Data ethics in the broader context of general data ethics, different stakeholder groups, demand for governance and regulation, social norms, and human values. We introduce the new role of data experts as an important stakeholder group that could be a balancing power of Big Data ethics, because they tend to simultaneously hold a position in data-rich organizations and are personally data-poor users. We argue that the power of data experts is derived from their background knowledge of the positives of Big Data use cases and from the related negative issues (e.g., [1,2]). Their responsibility stems from the common identity produced through membership in professional groups regarding data ethics [3]. We see our contribution in the creative part of the paper where we suggest a possible solution for digital inequalities in a new balanced model that respects the different roles and responsibilities of all involved parties (organizations, users, and experts)
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