Hieronder de samenvatting voor een voorstel voor een 1-jarig onderzoeksproject naar privacy en ICT in ontwikkelingslanden. Ik heb het ingediend voor een Rubicon-subsidie van NWO (2013) en een Niels Stensenfellowship (2014), maar de concurrentie om onderzoeksbeurzen is fel. Helaas heb ik de subsidie niet gekregen en heb ik het project niet kunnen uitvoeren.

ICT, Development and Privacy: Exploring the Debate and Evaluating Argumentative Strategies

Privacy, while prominent in Western debates on ICT, receives little attention in the context of ‘ICT for Development’ (ICT4D) research and practice. Arguments in favour or against paying systematic attention to privacy in ICT4D – e.g. “the income-poor are especially vulnerable to privacy-related harms” (pro), or “imposing privacy concerns is a form of cultural imperialism” (against) – have not yet been articulated in any detail. In this research I will explore the argumentative landscape, expanding the methods of analytical discourse evaluation and argument mapping to a new domain and intercultural context. Based on focus groups with ICT4D scholars, practitioners and stakeholders I will sketch ‘argument maps’. Semi-structured interviews will provide further empirical information about actual reasoning concerning privacy in this context – allowing for a refinement of argument maps. Key arguments will subsequently be assessed on their strength/plausibility. This requires a thorough normative-ethical analysis, drawing on both Computer Ethics and Development Ethics, and considering empirical realities as studied by ICT4D scholars – three disciplines which currently have little overlap. One contribution to the academic literature is providing the first steps towards such interdisciplinary analysis. More practically, a pilot will explore how to facilitate deliberations on privacy within ICT4D practice.