Responsible research and innovation in ICT: The case of privacy

Abstract

In: Von Schomberg, R. (Hrsg.), 2011: Towards Responsible Research and Innovation in the Information and Communication Technologies and Security Technologies Fields. Luxembourg: Publication Office of the European Union, pp. 35-45. The broad use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in almost every part of daily life produces a huge amount of data. Personal data of the user or of people involved constitute a major part of the data stored and processed. They reveal a lot about the users’ behaviour and help creating a picture of people’s personal lifestyles. Data stem from economic enterprises as well as from state surveillance systems, and together they manifest a threat to privacy. These new threats can no longer be dealt with by legal means alone; rather, interdisciplinarity is the key word. Since the erosion of privacy is a fundamental problem for liberal democracies, we need combined efforts and a common understanding of the value of privacy among engineers, political and social scientists and decision-makers in private enterprises as well as in the public domain. To take these considerations into account is to be considered part and parcel of responsible research and innovation; therefore, we have to develop new ways to secure privacy in a networked world. This bookcontribution will present new approaches to incorporate privacy-oriented thinking and PETs principles early into the design-process. The starting point is the idea that even in data protection it is cheaper to decide on the fundamental design earlier in the process rather than applying end-of-pipe solutions to ensure that a product or service complies with legal requirements or to gain acceptance on the market. These approaches will be discussed along with the results from two recent research projects ITA was involved in: PRISE und EuroPriSe.