Measuring and Increasing Data Ownership Awareness on Facebook
Author
Rafaj, Daniel
Term
4. term
Publication year
2022
Pages
170
Abstract
This thesis examines how aware Facebook users are of data ownership—understood as control over one’s data—and how such awareness might be increased. It focuses on three issues: compromised privacy due to extensive data collection, obstacles to data portability, and the broad rights granted to the platform by its content license. Guided by the question of how much control users have and how they perceive it, the study combines a literature review with a mixed-methods design: a competitive analysis comparing mainstream and alternative social networks, an online survey recruited via snowball sampling, and semi-structured interviews analyzed thematically. Reported findings indicate low awareness of data ownership issues among users, that Facebook retains substantial control over user data, and that data are collected in ways perceived as insufficiently transparent. The thesis discusses ways to raise awareness and considers alternative platforms as potential avenues, while situating the work within the contexts of GDPR and strong network effects.
Dette speciale undersøger, hvor bevidste Facebook-brugere er om dataejerskab – forstået som kontrol over egne data – og hvordan denne bevidsthed kan øges. Fokus er på tre centrale problemfelter: kompromitteret privatliv gennem omfattende dataindsamling, udfordringer ved dataportabilitet samt de vidtgående rettigheder, som Facebooks indholdslisens giver platformen. Med udgangspunkt i spørgsmålet om, hvor meget kontrol brugere reelt har, og hvordan de oplever den, kombinerer studiet en litteraturgennemgang med et mixed-method-design: en konkurrencemæssig analyse af mainstream- og alternative sociale medier, en online spørgeskemaundersøgelse rekrutteret via sneboldmetoden samt semistrukturerede interviews analyseret tematisk. De rapporterede fund peger på lav bevidsthed om dataejerskabsproblemer blandt brugere, at Facebook bevarer betydelig kontrol over brugernes data, og at data indsamles på måder, der opleves som utilstrækkeligt transparente. Specialet drøfter tiltag til at styrke bevidstheden og overvejer alternative platforme som mulige veje, placeret i konteksten af GDPR og stærke netværkseffekter.
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