Using Data Responsibly

Introduction

How can the data revolution expand economic development opportunities for more people? Can the increasing collection, analysis, and use of data – often from individuals1 through digital transactions or digital records of offline activities – broadly benefit those individuals and people? And what risks might arise, such as to individual privacy, and how might they be managed?

Conversations about data have become very popular: interest over time in "big data," as indicated by Google searches, for instance, has grown one-hundred-fold since 2010.2 More data is being generated – by people and machines – and captured, processed, and transferred than ever before. Much of this is because of the increasing use of digital technologies by people and organizations globally; indeed, even most analog processes have digital components (such as a visit to a doctor's office leading to a digital drug prescription).

But while the data revolution can benefit people, this chapter proposes that the structure of data markets might be raising risks and costs to individuals. People bear many of the costs and risks of participating in data markets and, indeed, might not even be aware they are participating. The poorest also face entry barriers, and it is possible that they might not benefit from their participation even when it is possible. 

The benefits from data include – at the most general level – the ability of data users to make better decisions using the information processed and to enjoy more convenience when interacting with organizations (for instance, easier interchange of data between platforms or service providers). The increasing use of such data by organizations, such as businesses and governments, implies the potential for faster and better decisions by these entities. This can help them improve service delivery, reduce costs and prices, or support process or product innovation, all of which would benefit the people that those organizations serve.

For example, better techniques for tracking how and where people drive their cars can inform traffic planning and management. Data from people's online activities inform advertising decisions that fund the operation of many widely used internet services that are "free" at the point of use. And as digital tools proliferate, individuals are increasingly able to benefit directly from access to more and new types of data and the information derived from it. People can take steps to increase their physical activity and improve their health by using digital pedometers, which have now become available on many smartphones apart from watch-like activity trackers. They can analyze market trends and make more informed choices about the products or services they buy, for instance, when buying books or purchasing air tickets. And depending on the organizations that use that data, people may benefit indirectly by being better 52 Information and Communications for Development 2018 able to navigate the organization's products and services and through an expanded set of choices or opportunities, based on analysis of the preferences exhibited by collating data on consumer and web traffic choices. 

The possible costs to the user of data collection include the loss of privacy, of agency, and of control. Such costs can undermine people's trust in the organizations that collect, control, and use data. Indeed, at the time of writing, various controversies had broken out over data leaks compromising the privacy of personal data and the biases involved in the use of data to profile individuals; these have underscored the risks emerging in the new data-rich economy. These costs are not always apparent or are distributed in biased ways among participants in data markets. This is because of how those markets have been evolving, with some organizations gaining significant power in defining how such data is collected, used, and shared. Other risks are emerging in this era of data: because of barriers that prevent people – especially the poor – from participating effectively in data markets and analog limitations to the benefits of the data revolution.

The chapter considers several aspects of personal data markets, which run on the personally identifiable data that people generate (figure 4.1 reviews the types of personal data). It looks at how data markets have evolved, highlights the various players in the data market, and then discusses the benefits and costs for participants in data marketplaces through digital networks and how negative impacts might be reduced. The chapter concludes with a discussion of public policies that could rebalance the costs and benefits to ensure fairer distribution among participants and understand how data marketplaces can focus more on people. These choices could determine whether data will help people – especially the poor – find economic opportunity. Few best practices exist as models, and hence the chapter will leave the reader not with specific policy prescriptions, but with a better sense of the dynamics at play.