Surveillance and security - a dodgy relationship

Modern societies are vulnerable. We have known this long before the attacks of September 11, but they made it clear to everyone. The second lesson learned was that it is impossible to foresee such events. Although these attacks to the real world were 'low-tech', now there are attempts around the globe to control especially the electronic or virtual world. However, does more surveillance really lead to more security? If so, what will be the price we have to pay? This paper gives an overview over what happened on a governmental level after September 11 in the EU, in some EU-member states and in the USA. Apart from political actions, we already face even direct socio-economic implications as some anonymizer services were shut down. They empowered Internet users to protect their right of privacy, and they were the first targets of investigation and suspicion. Shutting down these services reduces the potential room of users to protect their privacy by using privacy enhancing technologies (PETs). This is an indicator for a serious societal problem: democracy already has changed. In a second part this paper analyses the relationship between surveillance and security. It is argued that, the international over-reactions will not lead to the intended effects. Rather, they will have long-term implications for the respective societies.Privacy, security, surveillance, international policy

Beeinträchtigung der Privatsphäre in der Informationsgesellschaft [Detraction of Privacy in the Information Society]

Digitizing, Minimizing and Networking are the prerequisites for the evolving Information-Society, whose most attracting features are gathering, storing, linking and providing of enormous amounts of data. Best-known advantages are easy communication via e-Mail, easy access to information via Internet, comfortable services in e-Commerce and e-Government. On the other hand there are substantial dangers for privacy coming along with these developments. This paper shows basic technological developments, different actors and their use of personal data and deals with short and long-term effects of detraction of privacy. Special emphasis is given to the analysis of existing trade-offs between efficiency and security on the one hand and privacy on the other. Based on existing privacy regulations some recommendations for further policy actions are given. -- Digitalisierung, Minia-turisierung und Vernetzung haben die Voraussetzungen für eine Informationsgesellschaft geschaffen, die durch Sammlung, Speicherung und Verknüpfung enormer Datenmengen und deren breite Verfügbarkeit gekennzeichnet ist. Das schafft für die meisten Staatsbürger erhebliche Vorteile, die durch Schlagworte wie e-Mail, Internet, e-Commerce, aber auch elektronische Erledigung von Behördenwegen umschrieben werden können. Die verfügbaren Datenmassen entfalten aber auch ein Eigenleben, das in die Privatsphäre der meisten Staatsbürger in vielfacher Weise eingreift; den meisten ist gar nicht bewusst, wieviel Informationen über sie verfügbar sind und z.T. auch gehandelt wer-den. Im Folgenden sollen zunächst die neuen technischen Möglichkeiten der Informationssammlung, -speicherung und -verknüpfung beschrieben werden; es wird aufgezeigt, welche dieser neuen Möglichkeiten vom wem genutzt werden, und mit welchen Konsequenzen. Dann wird das Janusgesicht der Informationsgesellschaft herausgearbeitet, die kritische Austauschbeziehung zwischen Effizienz und Sicherheit auf der einen Seite, die durch die intensive Informationssammlung und -verarbeitung überhaupt erst ermöglicht wird, und dem daraus resultierenden z.T. tiefen Eindringen in die Privatsphäre auf der anderen. Aus einer Diskussion der bestehenden Datenschutzbestimmungen wird versucht, erste Ansatzpunkte für Lösungen abzuleiten. Das stößt auf zahlreiche Schwierigkeiten: Die Dynamik des Sektors, ein in weiten Bereichen noch mangelndes Problembewusstsein, international erheblich differierende Vorstellungen über Art und Umfang der Schutzbedürftigkeit, aber auch die Tatsache, dass es einer ausgewogenen Kombination gesetzlicher Maßnahmen mit Selbstbeschränkung, also bewusstem Verzicht der Nutzer auf manchen Komfort bedarf.Privatsphäre, Privacy, Datenschutz, Informationsgesellschaft, problemorientierte Technikfolgenabschätzung

The scored consumer: privacy and big data

The ‘scored consumer’ is just one example of many generic developments in and around big data, entailing potential conflicts with the fundamental right to privacy. In this paper, we will discuss the relation between elements of the big data debate and the issue of privacy, and we will exemplify the challenges arising by looking into the details of credit scoring. The current challenges originate predominantly from socio-technical developments during recent decades, which will continue to unfold over the coming years. Three of these socio-technical and techno-economic-driven developments are digitisation, big data and the Internet of things. These developments are very relevant to all of us, as they are supposed to change - and have already changed - our lives profoundly

Contributing to an European vision of democratic education by engaging multiple actors in shaping responsible research agendas

Traditionally, expert-based forward looking has been applied to anticipate future challenges, solutions and strategic decisions, but limitations to this approach have become obvious – especially when considering long term perspectives – e.g. failing to include a comprehensive array of opinions. Aiming at producing sustainable strategies for responsible socio-technical change, research funding can benefit from combining forward looking and public participation to elicit socially robust knowledge from consulting with multi-actors, including citizens. In this paper, we give insights into the EU project CIMULACT – Citizen and Multi- Actor Consultation on Horizon 2020. In CIMULACT, more than 4500 citizens, stakeholders and experts from 30 European countries engaged online and offline to co-create research topics. These are supposed to serve as input for the next round of calls in Horizon 2020, national research agendas as well as the ninth framework programme in the making. We investigate key results of this transdisciplinary process focussing on the topic “democratic education” with regard to two levels: What issues concerning the topic were raised? Can we find a common European imaginary for “democratic education”? Our analysis shows that the results contribute to defining and describing challenges for the currently prevailing imaginary of democratic education in Europe

Introduction:Technology Assessment Beyond National Boundaries

Modern societies are immensely permeated by technologies and thus also dependent on them. Increasingly, this is also true for countries in the global South. As a result, questions about the interdependencies of technology and society, the possible mutual influences and the social governance of technology are becoming a global challenge.</p

The Shape of Global Technology Assessment

This chapter draws tentative conclusions from the findings of the book contributions with regard to possible future ways to organise TA on a global scale. These considerations comprise a discussion of possible organisational shapes that can support the global interchange and sharing of TA capacities, and increase its political relevance and operability on a global level. Beyond such medium-and long-term aspirations, the outlook reflects on more short-term practical steps that could be taken within the globalTA Network to improve interchange of knowledge and expertise, engage in joint projects and mutually foster analytical and methodological capacities.</p