Data privacy is a fundamental human right that concerns us all, in our private lives as well as in our work lives, as individuals and as an organization.
The right to privacy is recognized in Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and other international and regional human rights instruments.
The Dag Hammarskjöld Library hosted a virtual panel discussion, “A Right to Read without being Read: Data Collection and the Scholarly Record,” in which it convened experts to discuss what privacy looks like in the digital age, with a special focus on the scholarly publishing ecosystem and libraries’ digital shelves.
This event, which was part of the Library’s Insight Series, received a lot of interest and attracted more than 400 attendees worldwide, with many more requesting the recording of the session.
The collection and monetization of data is not limited to a single sector, and it has expanded into scholarly publishing platforms.
Panelists discussed the implications of data collection and possible responses to it, focusing on data privacy concerns of researchers, editors, reviewers, and readers across the globe.
Libraries play a vital role here as the privacy rights of their users are under increasing threat. Commercial service providers may require libraries to collect expansive user data as a condition of service, and cloud-based library systems may store user information outside the library’s control.
Despite these challenges, libraries and information professionals have a say in determining what personal data to collect, guided by ethical principles and best practices of data management.
