Sex, Lies, and Data

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this presentation is to demonstrate how current research ethics policies and procedures can fail to achieve meaningful privacy and consent from human subjects in data-related research areas, and additionally, to provide the beginnings of a supplementary framework that researchers can use to define meaningful consent. Methods: I will illustrate failures of current research ethics involving lapses in privacy and/or consent from three case studies of published research based on user data from Facebook, OkCupid and Ashley Madison. Results: The standard mechanisms by which we measure ethical soundness is producing morally questionable research when applied to some data-related research. While the policies and procedures of journals and regulatory bodies need to adapt to meet these new contexts, researchers can take ownership of the ethical ramifications of their work. Conclusions: I submit that researchers need to develop and train in a new subset set of ethics, called Data Ethics, or the applied framework of ethical principles in data-related inquiry, and beginning with a meaningful definition and test for consent is a good start.