The scored consumer: privacy and big data

Abstract

The ‘scored consumer’ is just one example of many generic developments in and around big data, entailing potential conflicts with the fundamental right to privacy. In this paper, we will discuss the relation between elements of the big data debate and the issue of privacy, and we will exemplify the challenges arising by looking into the details of credit scoring. The current challenges originate predominantly from socio-technical developments during recent decades, which will continue to unfold over the coming years. Three of these socio-technical and techno-economic-driven developments are digitisation, big data and the Internet of things. These developments are very relevant to all of us, as they are supposed to change - and have already changed - our lives profoundly.