5.11 Appendix 1: Side Effects of Massive Data Collection
101
been experienced, for example, by companies selling cloud-based data storage. Many
digital systems and services can only work with a sufficient level of trust, including
electronic banking, eBusiness, eVoting, social media, and sensitive communication
by email. Yet more than two thirds of all Germans say they don’t trust government authorities and Big Data companies any longer that they wouldn’t misuse their
personal data. More than 50% even feel threatened by the Internet.
31 Similarly, trust
in governments has dramatically dropped in the USA and elsewhere.
32 The success
of the digital economy is further undermined by information pollution, as it results
from spam and undesired ads, for example, and recently from fake news as well.
5.11.4 Social and Societal Risks
To contain “societal ills” such as terrorism and organized crime, it often seems that
surveillance is needed. However, the effectiveness of mass surveillance in improving
the level of security is frequently questioned: the evidence is missing or weak.
33
At the same time, mass surveillance undermines privacy, whereby it questions the
government’s trust in citizens. This, in turn, undermines the citizens’ trust in their
government, which is the basis of its legitimacy and power.
The saying that “trust is good, but control is better” is not entirely correct: control
cannot fully replace trust.
34 A well-functioning and efficient society needs a suitable
combination of both. In particular, the perceived loss of privacy is likely to promote
conformism and to endanger diversity and useful criticism. Independent judgments
and decision-making could be undermined. On the long run, this would impair a
society’s ability to innovate and adapt, which could finally make it fail.
35
31 Umfrage zum Datenschutz: Online misstrauen die Deutschen dem Staat (June 5,
2014), http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/web/umfrage-deutsche-misstrauen-dem-staat-beim-onlinedatenschutza-973522.html.
32 See, for example, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-11-26/nsa-spying-risks-35billion-in-u-s-technology-sales,
http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2014/06/05/318
770896/a-year-after-snowden-u-stech-losing-trust-overseas, and https://rightedition.com/2013/08/
01/nsa-scandal-shakes-americans-trust-in-government/.
33 The Washington Post (January 12, 2014): NSA phone record collection does little to prevent
terrorist attacks, group says, http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/nsa-pho
nerecordcollection-does-little-to-prevent-terrorist-attacks-group-says/2014/01/12/8aa860aa-77dd11e3-8963-b4b654bcc9b2_story.html?hpid=z4; http://securitydata.newamerica.net/nsa/analysis;
Gill [14], https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn26801-mass-surveillance-not-effective-for-fin
ding-terrorists/ see also BBC News (August 24, 2009): 1000 cameras ‘solve one crime’.
34 Detlef Fetchenhauer, Six reasons why you should be more trustful, TEDx Groningen, https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZlzCc57qX4.
35 In fact, it’s mostly the collapse of diversity that leads to the failure of systems that are centrally
controlled in a top-down way, see Helbing [15].
101
been experienced, for example, by companies selling cloud-based data storage. Many
digital systems and services can only work with a sufficient level of trust, including
electronic banking, eBusiness, eVoting, social media, and sensitive communication
by email. Yet more than two thirds of all Germans say they don’t trust government authorities and Big Data companies any longer that they wouldn’t misuse their
personal data. More than 50% even feel threatened by the Internet.
31 Similarly, trust
in governments has dramatically dropped in the USA and elsewhere.
32 The success
of the digital economy is further undermined by information pollution, as it results
from spam and undesired ads, for example, and recently from fake news as well.
5.11.4 Social and Societal Risks
To contain “societal ills” such as terrorism and organized crime, it often seems that
surveillance is needed. However, the effectiveness of mass surveillance in improving
the level of security is frequently questioned: the evidence is missing or weak.
33
At the same time, mass surveillance undermines privacy, whereby it questions the
government’s trust in citizens. This, in turn, undermines the citizens’ trust in their
government, which is the basis of its legitimacy and power.
The saying that “trust is good, but control is better” is not entirely correct: control
cannot fully replace trust.
34 A well-functioning and efficient society needs a suitable
combination of both. In particular, the perceived loss of privacy is likely to promote
conformism and to endanger diversity and useful criticism. Independent judgments
and decision-making could be undermined. On the long run, this would impair a
society’s ability to innovate and adapt, which could finally make it fail.
35
31 Umfrage zum Datenschutz: Online misstrauen die Deutschen dem Staat (June 5,
2014), http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/web/umfrage-deutsche-misstrauen-dem-staat-beim-onlinedatenschutza-973522.html.
32 See, for example, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-11-26/nsa-spying-risks-35billion-in-u-s-technology-sales,
http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2014/06/05/318
770896/a-year-after-snowden-u-stech-losing-trust-overseas, and https://rightedition.com/2013/08/
01/nsa-scandal-shakes-americans-trust-in-government/.
33 The Washington Post (January 12, 2014): NSA phone record collection does little to prevent
terrorist attacks, group says, http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/nsa-pho
nerecordcollection-does-little-to-prevent-terrorist-attacks-group-says/2014/01/12/8aa860aa-77dd11e3-8963-b4b654bcc9b2_story.html?hpid=z4; http://securitydata.newamerica.net/nsa/analysis;
Gill [14], https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn26801-mass-surveillance-not-effective-for-fin
ding-terrorists/ see also BBC News (August 24, 2009): 1000 cameras ‘solve one crime’.
34 Detlef Fetchenhauer, Six reasons why you should be more trustful, TEDx Groningen, https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZlzCc57qX4.
35 In fact, it’s mostly the collapse of diversity that leads to the failure of systems that are centrally
controlled in a top-down way, see Helbing [15].