Synthetic Data : Servicing Privacy
Munkholm, Johan Lau and Wiehn, Tanja LU
(2025)
p.137-154
- Abstract
- In contemporary society, big tech platforms have leveraged their ownership over global data infrastructures and have established powerful influence over the conditions of digitally mediated life. The ubiquity of platform-mediated information technology has engendered a growing sense of unease about surveillance and loss of personal autonomy. This awareness has motivated repeated calls for expanding and enforcing the protection of individual and data privacy rights forming the baseline of political opposition to the power of platforms. Inspired by the prominence of this political discourse, new technological innovations are developed and promoted to provide solutions to the problem of privacy.
In this contribution we focus on one... (More) - In contemporary society, big tech platforms have leveraged their ownership over global data infrastructures and have established powerful influence over the conditions of digitally mediated life. The ubiquity of platform-mediated information technology has engendered a growing sense of unease about surveillance and loss of personal autonomy. This awareness has motivated repeated calls for expanding and enforcing the protection of individual and data privacy rights forming the baseline of political opposition to the power of platforms. Inspired by the prominence of this political discourse, new technological innovations are developed and promoted to provide solutions to the problem of privacy.
In this contribution we focus on one such technological innovation, namely synthetic data. Synthetic data are purported to reduce the labour intensity and costs of data collection while severing the connection between the individual and data in a way that satisfactorily complies with legal requirements. We highlight how synthetic data are a symptomatic result of a European political and regulatory discourse that foregrounds the protection of individual rights, especially privacy, as its first principle of political problematization. Building on this, we critically analyse the promotion and emergence of synthetic data to show the epistemological and political limitations of the concept of privacy. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/15385025-42d1-465b-95c0-a76a8f40a552
- author
- Munkholm, Johan Lau
and Wiehn, Tanja
LU
- publishing date
- 2025-01
- type
- Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
- publication status
- published
- subject
- host publication
- Beyond Privacy : People, Practices, Politics - People, Practices, Politics
- editor
- Søe, Sille Obelitz ; Wiehn, Tanja ; Jørgensen, Rikke Frank and Valtysson, Bjarki
- pages
- 137 - 154
- publisher
- Bristol University Press
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:105004486066
- ISBN
- 9781529239683
- 9781529239706
- 9781529239690
- DOI
- 10.51952/9781529239706.ch009
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- id
- 15385025-42d1-465b-95c0-a76a8f40a552
- date added to LUP
- 2025-03-19 12:53:40
- date last changed
- 2025-07-15 07:43:23
@inbook{15385025-42d1-465b-95c0-a76a8f40a552,
abstract = {{In contemporary society, big tech platforms have leveraged their ownership over global data infrastructures and have established powerful influence over the conditions of digitally mediated life. The ubiquity of platform-mediated information technology has engendered a growing sense of unease about surveillance and loss of personal autonomy. This awareness has motivated repeated calls for expanding and enforcing the protection of individual and data privacy rights forming the baseline of political opposition to the power of platforms. Inspired by the prominence of this political discourse, new technological innovations are developed and promoted to provide solutions to the problem of privacy.<br/><br/>In this contribution we focus on one such technological innovation, namely synthetic data. Synthetic data are purported to reduce the labour intensity and costs of data collection while severing the connection between the individual and data in a way that satisfactorily complies with legal requirements. We highlight how synthetic data are a symptomatic result of a European political and regulatory discourse that foregrounds the protection of individual rights, especially privacy, as its first principle of political problematization. Building on this, we critically analyse the promotion and emergence of synthetic data to show the epistemological and political limitations of the concept of privacy.}},
author = {{Munkholm, Johan Lau and Wiehn, Tanja}},
booktitle = {{Beyond Privacy : People, Practices, Politics}},
editor = {{Søe, Sille Obelitz and Wiehn, Tanja and Jørgensen, Rikke Frank and Valtysson, Bjarki}},
isbn = {{9781529239683}},
language = {{eng}},
pages = {{137--154}},
publisher = {{Bristol University Press}},
title = {{Synthetic Data : Servicing Privacy}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.51952/9781529239706.ch009}},
doi = {{10.51952/9781529239706.ch009}},
year = {{2025}},
}