Questioning trust in the era of big (and small) data

Abstract

EDITOR'S SUMMARYInformation policy extends to our acknowledgements of website statements about data privacy and sharing, as we routinely check a box to gain access to a site. Users rarely give much thought to whether they can trust the site sponsor to protect personal information. While privacy is often the chief concern in discussions of gathering, storing and using information, trust in the sponsor, whether governmental or corporate, is crucial. Governing bodies recognize democracy, fairness and a right to information, covering both access and privacy, as part of a social and political contract. Yet with data being collected on a massive scale, legitimate concerns about data misuse can undermine our trust in such fundamental understandings, leaving transparency as a critical element. The ASIS&T Special Interest Group/Information Policy (SIG/IFP) will explore the issue of trust during a workshop at the 2014 Annual Meeting, considering its foundations and evolution and questioning its justification in the age of big data.