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Ethics and Data

C
Catherine D'Ignazio

An introduction to the topic of ethics and big data ending with questions about how to teach data journalists. Part of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society's Study group "Teaching Data Storytelling for Civic Impact".

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ETHICS & DATA Discussing, teaching, enacting
The sheer amount of data we are generating is pretty insane Banks! Gyms! Student loans! Insurance companies! Health care providers! EZPass! T-Pass! Tech support calls! Public records - Birth, Marriage, Death, Sale of property, Legal proceedings! Public Surveillance Cameras! Future/Now: IoT, Wearables, DashboardCams, CopCams, Drones, Microlocation devices
Data is the method of the powerful, who have resources to acquire, store and make sense of large quantities of data.
Many data practices are closed, extractive and centralized individuals communities Corporate Databases, Data Brokers, Government, INGOs NSA
Open Data Movement - hope for more widely distributed access to data and know-how
CHALLENGES FOR OPEN DATA Most corporate data & government data still not open. Many accountability data sets notably missing from open data. (Open Data Barometer report) Data that you need doesnt exist because its not in anyones interest to collect it (police killings) Anonymized and aggregated data can be rematched to create personally identi鍖able information (AOL incident, Science/MIT Media Lab research, NYCTaxis and Celebrities) Risk of data retained forever - not sensitive now but could be sensitive in future. Data literacy gap to translate data into civic practices.
Often, just opening data is not enough.We see troubling cases of possible misuse of data. Target teenage pregnancy - Should corporate practices be able to bypass HIPAA regulations?! Predictive Parole - Should algorithms and personal data help determine parole?! The Mugshot Industry - Should public data feed into public shaming? Is this a violation of innocent until proven guilty?! Gun owners & the Journal News - Should journalists be able to publish gun owners home addresses?! 538 reports on Nigerian Kidnappings - Yikes. Even data journalists get things really, really wrong sometimes.! Doxing - Should we have consequences for doxing, which often uses public data to shame, harass or bully an individual?
WHAT IS IMPORTANTTOTEACH JOURNALISM STUDENTS ABOUT DATA & ETHICS?
WHAT I WANTTHEMTO LEARN ! Case studies to see nuance Data comes from material practices Ecosystem of personal data Data doesnt have all the answers Privacy concerns, protecting self and sources, assessing risk now and into the future Nuts and bolts of tools (end-to-end encryption, deleting data securely, etc.)
CONTEXT Journalism Undergrads and Grads Professionally oriented, Like learning practical skills Media savvy but not techies They will read but I have to emphasize that they will need to perform the reading in some way in class Class is studio-based; Prefer activities & projects to lectures & theory Limited class time

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Ethics and Data

  • 1. ETHICS & DATA Discussing, teaching, enacting
  • 2. The sheer amount of data we are generating is pretty insane Banks! Gyms! Student loans! Insurance companies! Health care providers! EZPass! T-Pass! Tech support calls! Public records - Birth, Marriage, Death, Sale of property, Legal proceedings! Public Surveillance Cameras! Future/Now: IoT, Wearables, DashboardCams, CopCams, Drones, Microlocation devices
  • 3. Data is the method of the powerful, who have resources to acquire, store and make sense of large quantities of data.
  • 4. Many data practices are closed, extractive and centralized individuals communities Corporate Databases, Data Brokers, Government, INGOs NSA
  • 5. Open Data Movement - hope for more widely distributed access to data and know-how
  • 6. CHALLENGES FOR OPEN DATA Most corporate data & government data still not open. Many accountability data sets notably missing from open data. (Open Data Barometer report) Data that you need doesnt exist because its not in anyones interest to collect it (police killings) Anonymized and aggregated data can be rematched to create personally identi鍖able information (AOL incident, Science/MIT Media Lab research, NYCTaxis and Celebrities) Risk of data retained forever - not sensitive now but could be sensitive in future. Data literacy gap to translate data into civic practices.
  • 7. Often, just opening data is not enough.We see troubling cases of possible misuse of data. Target teenage pregnancy - Should corporate practices be able to bypass HIPAA regulations?! Predictive Parole - Should algorithms and personal data help determine parole?! The Mugshot Industry - Should public data feed into public shaming? Is this a violation of innocent until proven guilty?! Gun owners & the Journal News - Should journalists be able to publish gun owners home addresses?! 538 reports on Nigerian Kidnappings - Yikes. Even data journalists get things really, really wrong sometimes.! Doxing - Should we have consequences for doxing, which often uses public data to shame, harass or bully an individual?
  • 8. WHAT IS IMPORTANTTOTEACH JOURNALISM STUDENTS ABOUT DATA & ETHICS?
  • 9. WHAT I WANTTHEMTO LEARN ! Case studies to see nuance Data comes from material practices Ecosystem of personal data Data doesnt have all the answers Privacy concerns, protecting self and sources, assessing risk now and into the future Nuts and bolts of tools (end-to-end encryption, deleting data securely, etc.)
  • 10. CONTEXT Journalism Undergrads and Grads Professionally oriented, Like learning practical skills Media savvy but not techies They will read but I have to emphasize that they will need to perform the reading in some way in class Class is studio-based; Prefer activities & projects to lectures & theory Limited class time