Browsing by Author "Roux, Josephine Anne"

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    Privacy as a common good in the age of big data
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-04) Roux, Josephine Anne; De Villiers-Botha, Tanya; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Philosophy.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY: In this thesis, I support the claim that Big Data poses a significant threat to liberal democracy through its violation of citizens’ privacy and consequently argue that in order to address this threat, it is necessary to re-assess the way that we value privacy in a liberal society. Big Data's role in the erosion of liberal democracy has been increasingly raised in the media and the philosophical literature, but the precise role that violations of privacy play in undermining democracy is not always clearly spelt out. I unpack the claims made in this regard and show that the central issue here is that Big Data threatens democracy because of its unique ability to undermine citizens’ autonomy. I go on to show that it is able to do so thanks to its unprecedented large-scale and consistent invasions of privacy. That is to say, I show how, by invading privacy, Big Data can and does undermine autonomy. And as I will argue, without an autonomous citizenry, liberal democracy cannot thrive. Having made the argument that democracy is under threat because of Big Data’s erosion of autonomy through privacy-invasions, I go on to assess arguments for valuing privacy as a public good. I show the limitations that stem from viewing privacy as a public good, and I conclude that in the Age of Big Data, it is crucial that we view privacy as a common good instead. I argue that the traditional evaluation of privacy as an individual good is a central obstacle in the struggle to address privacyinvasions in the Age of Big Data. Hence, in order to protect our privacy and, ultimately, liberal democracy, we need to reconceive of the value of privacy.