Data philanthropy

Data philanthropy refers to private sector companies sharing data they collected for the public good, often to help address social or environmental challenges for public benefit. The concept was popularized through its introduction by the United Nations Global Pulse initiative in 2011 to leverage corporate data assets for humanitarian, academic, and societal causes. For instance, anonymized mobile data has been used to track disease outbreaks. In contrast, corporate data on consumer behavior may be shared with researchers to study public health and economic trends.

Definition of Data philanthropy

A significant portion of data collected from the Internet consists of user-generated content, such as blogs, social media posts, and information submitted through lead capture and data forms. In addition to this, corporations gather and analyze consumer data to gain insights into customer behavior, identify potential markets, and inform investment decisions. United Nations Global Pulse Director, Robert Kirkpatrick, has referred to this type of data as "massive passive data" or "data exhaust."

Data philanthropy describes the private sector sharing this data overload in ways that can benefit the public. The term "philanthropy" implies that data sharing is a positive act and that shared data is a public good.

Challenges

While data philanthropy has the potential to enhance development policies, it also raises concerns regarding privacy, ownership, and the equitable use of data. Making users' private data available to various organizations and institutions can raise concerns regarding internet privacy.Mathematical techniques such as differential privacy and space-time boxes have been developed to allow access to personal data while ensuring user anonymity. However, even if these algorithms work, re-identification may still be possible.

Another challenge is convincing corporations to share their data. The data collected by corporations provides them with market competitiveness and insight regarding consumer behavior. Corporations may fear losing their competitive edge if they share the information they have collected to the public.

Numerous moral challenges are also encountered. In 2016, Mariarosaria Taddeo, a Digital Ethics professor at the University of Oxford, proposed an ethical framework to address these moral challenges.

Sharing strategies

The goal of data philanthropy is to create a global data commons where companies, governments, and individuals can contribute anonymous, aggregated datasets. The United Nations Global Pulse offers four different tactics that companies can use to share their data that preserve consumer anonymity:

1. Share aggregated and derived data sets for analysis under nondisclosure agreements (NDA)
2. Allow researchers to analyse data within the private company's own network under NDAs
3. Real-Time Data Commons: data pooled and aggregated between multiple companies of the same industry to protect competitiveness
4. Public/Private Alerting Network: companies mine data behind their own firewalls and share indicators

Application in various fields

Through data philanthropy, corporations such as social networking sites (e.g., Facebook, Twitter), telecommunication companies (e.g., Verizon, AT&T), and search engines (e.g., Google, Bing), amongst other data-intensive organizations, collect and make anonymized and aggregated user-generated information available to a data sharing system for research, policy development, and social impact initiatives. This also permits institutions to give back to a cause widely seen as beneficial. With the onset of technological advancements, sharing data on a global scale and an in-depth analysis of these data structures could alter the reaction towards certain occurrences, be it natural disasters, epidemics, worldwide economic problems and other events. Robert Kirkpatrick, the Director of the United Nations Global Pulse, has argued that this aggregated information is beneficial for the common good and can lead to developments in research and data production in a range of varied fields.

Digital disease detection

Health researchers use digital disease detection by collecting data from various sources—such as social media platforms (e.g., Twitter, Facebook), mobile devices (e.g., cell phones, smartphones), online search queries, mobile apps, and sensor data from wearables and environmental sensors—to monitor and predict the spread of infectious diseases. This approach allows them to track and anticipate outbreaks of epidemics (e.g., COVID-19, Ebola), pandemics, vector-borne diseases (e.g., malaria, dengue fever), and respiratory illnesses (e.g., influenza, SARS), improving response and intervention strategies for the spread of diseases.

In the United States, HealthMap is using data philanthropy-related tactics to track the outbreak of diseases. HealthMap analyses data from publicly available media sources such as news websites, government alerts, and social media sites like X (formerly known as Twitter) for outbreaks of various illnesses around the world. Another website, Flu Near You, allows users to report their own health status on a weekly basis. Traditional flu surveillance can take up to 2 weeks to confirm outbreaks, and doctors must wait for a virological test to confirm the outbreak before reporting it to the Centers for Disease Control. This form of data philanthropy allows for up-to-date information regarding various health concerns by using publicly available information gathered from news outlets, government alerts, and social media sites. HealthMap and Flu Near You are considered data philanthropy as users' data is gathered from social media sites without their knowledge.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collaborated with Google and launched Google Flu Trends in 2008, a website that tracks flu-related searches and user location to track the spread of the flu. Users can visit the website to compare the amount of flu-related search activity versus the reported numbers of flu outbreaks on a graphical map. The difficulty with this method of tracking is that Google searches are sometimes performed due to curiosity rather than when an individual is suffering from the flu. According to Ashley Fowlkes, an epidemiologist in the CDC Influenza division, "The Google Flu Trends system tries to account for that type of media bias by modeling search terms over time to see which ones remain stable." Google Flu Trends is no longer publishing current flu estimates on the public website; however, visitors to the site can still view and download previous estimates. Current data can be shared with verified researchers.

A study from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), published in the October 12, 2012 issue of Science, discussed how phone data helped curb the spread of malaria in Kenya. The researchers mapped phone calls and texts made by 14,816,521 Kenyan mobile phone subscribers. When individuals left their primary living location, the destination and length of journey were calculated. This data was then compared to a 2009 malaria prevalence map to estimate the disease's commonality in each location. Combining all this information, the researchers can estimate the probability of an individual carrying malaria and map the movement of the disease. This research can be used to track the spread of similar diseases.

Humanitarian Aid

Calling patterns of mobile phone users can determine the socioeconomic standings of the populace, which can be used to deduce "its access to housing, education, healthcare, and basic services such as water and electricity.". Researchers from Columbia University and Karolinska Institute used daily SIM card location data from both before and after the 2010 Haiti earthquake to estimate the movement of people both in response to the earthquake and during the related 2010 Haiti cholera outbreak. Their research suggests that mobile phone data can provide rapid and accurate estimates of population movements during disasters and outbreaks of infectious disease. Big data can also provide information on looming disasters and can assist relief organizations in rapid response and locating displaced individuals.By analyzing specific patterns within this 'big data,' we can enhance responses to disruptive events such as natural disasters, disease outbreaks, and global economic crises. Leveraging real-time information enables a deeper understanding of individual well-being, allowing for more effective interventions. Corporations utilize digital services, such as human sensor systems, to detect and solve impending problems within communities. This is a strategy implemented by the private sector in order to protect its citizens by anonymously disseminating customer information to the public sector whilst also ensuring the protection of their privacy.

Corporate

Data philanthropy incorporates aspects of social philanthropy by permitting corporations to create profound impacts through the act of giving back by dispersing proprietary datasets. The public sector collects and preserves information, which has been considered an essential asset. Company's track and analyse users online activities so as to gain more insight into their needs in relation to new products and services. These companies view the welfare of the population as a vital key to the expansion and progression of businesses by using their data to places a spotlight on the plight of global citizens. Experts in the private sector emphasize the importance of integrating diverse data sources—such as retail, mobile, and social media data—to develop essential solutions for addressing global challenges. In Data Philanthropy: New Paradigms for Collaborative Problem Solving (2022), authors Stefaan Verhulst and Andrew Young discuss this approach. Robert Kirkpatrick argues that, although sharing private information carries inherent risks, it ultimately yields public benefits, supporting the common good  – via Harvard Business Review (subscription required) The digital revolution causes an extensive production of Big data that is user-generated and available on the web. Corporations accumulate information on customer preferences through the digital services they utilize and products they purchase in order to gain a clear insight on their clientele and future market opportunities. However, the rights of individuals concerning privacy and ownership of data are a controversial issue, as governments and other institutions can use this collective data for other unethical purposes. Companies monitor and probe consumer online activities in order to better comprehend and develop tailored needs for their clientele, and in turn increase their profits.

Academia

Data philanthropy plays an important role in academia. Researchers encounter countless obstacles whilst attempting to access data. This data is available to a limited number of researchers with sole access to restricted resources who are authorized to utilize this information, like social media streams, enabling them to produce more knowledge and develop new studies. For example, X (formerly known as Twitter) markets access to its real-time APIs at various prices, e.g. $5,000 for reading 1,000,000 posts per month, which often surpasses the budgets of most researchers.

Human Rights

Data philanthropy aids the human rights movement by assisting in the dispersal of evidence for truth commissions and war crimes tribunals. Advocates for human rights gather data on abuses occurring within countries, which is then used for scientific analysis to raise awareness and drive action. For example, non-profit organizations compile data from human rights monitors in war zones in order to assist the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. This data uncovers inconsistencies in the number of casualties of war, which in turn leads to international attention and exerts influence on discussions relating to global policy.

See also

• Big data
• Open data
• Freedom of information
• Data security
• Public-benefit corporation

External links

• Data Philanthropy, where are we now? in UN Global Pulse blog by Adreas Pawelke and Anoush Rima Tatevossian (2013-05-08).