Data Autonomy

In this article, Babette Kanuer explores why academics and their institutions should consider a transition from Twitter to Mastodon to support open principles and avoid relying on centralised, commercial platforms where users lack control and data autonomy.

In which sector do the highest-paid Dutch CEOs work? The banking industry? Tech industry? No, it's scientific publishers. This is what we found during our research about executive compensation practices in the Netherlands between 2017-2020. The figures come from companies' annual reports.

Data autonomy can be understood as the process of gaining control of the information we collect and produce. By regaining control, we will be able to decide which data goes where and who can see what. This increases transparency around the use of...

“I don’t care about my data, I’ve got nothing to hide!” We have probably all heard someone around us say this, or even said it ourselves before learning more about data privacy and data autonomy. Yet, many are still turning a blind eye to privacy issues. In an era where information becomes...

The regaining of more autonomy over our data at the university is a major undertaking. Apart from activities within the UG, this requires national and even international collaborations...

Data Autonomy is often associated with terms such as control or ownership over one’s data. Personally, I believe this definition leaves out the core aspect of data as the lifeblood of our online lives and rather than control, it is what makes digital self-determination possible. The ability to understand the flow of our own data...

On 27 and 28 June 2023 the conference "PublicSpaces: Global Perspectives, Local Practices" took place in the Pakhuis de Zwijger in Amsterdam. On 28 June the Data Autonomy project of the University of Groningen also was present with a presentation about the open questions, challenges and results.

During the launch event of the Data Autonomy Project on June 22, attendees from all kinds of stakeholder groups from within the University of Groningen (UG), as well as regional and national stakeholders from the business and governmental sector engaged in an active dialogue about the meaning and importance of data autonomy. Together they explored challenges and opportunities within the UG as an organisation, while placing data autonomy in a broader national and international context.

1. By the eighth day of class, your professor can predict with 70 percent accuracy whether you are going to pass this course. 2. When you want to register for courses, a robor advisor assesses your profile and nudges you to pick courses in which you are most likely to succeed. 3. When you get to class, your teacher comes up to you and says disapprovingly: 'You were working on the assignment at 4 am...'

As the coronavirus spread across the world in 2020, I began a research fellowship at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany. I was not surprised to learn that all my interactions would be virtual as a result of on-going lockdowns. Yet, I was surprised to learn that...