The tech company dilemma : navigating government requests for user data
Type
doctoral thesis
Date Issued
2021
Author(s)
Ebert, Isabel Laura
Abstract
This research is located in the discourse around structural opacity and absence of information of the state-business nexus in the data economy, departing from a Business & Human rights angle. Using a qualitative research design, this thesis investigates how companies are responding to unusual government requests for user data. Through a sensemaking approach, eight dimensions are constructed that allow one to conceptualize the corporate response to disclosure requests further. The findings show that a persisting frequency of unusual requests can lead to a move from sensemaking to sensegiving, allowing companies to “normalize the unusual”. At the same time, crisis moments persist that trigger sensemaking. Nevertheless, companies increasingly embrace a human rights approach through a close proximity in management between headquarter and subsidiary. The findings also depict how current regulation can constitute a stark impediment to genuine public communication around data disclosure requests.
Abstract (De)
This research is located in the discourse around structural opacity and absence of information of the state-business nexus in the data economy, departing from a Business & Human rights angle. Using a qualitative research design, this thesis investigates how companies are responding to unusual government requests for user data. Through a sensemaking approach, eight dimensions are constructed that allow one to conceptualize the corporate response to disclosure requests further. The findings show that a persisting frequency of unusual requests can lead to a move from sensemaking to sensegiving, allowing companies to “normalize the unusual”. At the same time, crisis moments persist that trigger sensemaking. Nevertheless, companies increasingly embrace a human rights approach through a close proximity in management between headquarter and subsidiary. The findings also depict how current regulation can constitute a stark impediment to genuine public communication around data disclosure requests.
Language
English
Keywords
Technologie
Menschenrechte
Daten
EDIS-5042
HSG Classification
not classified
HSG Profile Area
None
Publisher
Universität St. Gallen
Publisher place
St.Gallen
Official URL
Subject(s)
Eprints ID
262437
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
open.access
Name
Dis5042.pdf
Size
1.51 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
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