The information age has brought about a growing conflict between proponents of a data-driven society on the one side and demands for protection of individual freedom, autonomy, and dignity by means of privacy on the other. The causes of this conflict are rooted in the modern Western opposition of individual and society and a self-understanding of the human as an autonomous rational subject with an inalienable right to informational self-determination. Andréa Belliger and David J. Krieger propose a theory of information as a common good and redefine the individual as an informational self who exists in networks made up of both humans and nonhumans. Privacy is replaced by publicy and issues of data use and data protection are described in terms of governance instead of government.
Andréa Belliger is director of Learning Services at the University of Teacher Education in Lucerne and also director of the Institute for Communication & Leadership. Her research focuses on digital transformation, new media, communication science, e-health, and fintech.
David J. Krieger is director at the Institute for Communication & Leadership in Lucerne, Switzerland. His research focus lies on new media, communication, system theory, and network theory.
