Care ethics and the responsible management of power and privacy in digitally enhanced disaster response
| Published date | 02 January 2020 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JICES-02-2019-0020 |
| Date | 02 January 2020 |
| Pages | 157-174 |
| Author | Paul Hayes,Damian Jackson |
Care ethics and the responsible
management of power and privacy
in digitally enhanced
disaster response
Paul Hayes
Department of Values, Technology and Innovation, TU Delft, Delft,
The Netherlands, and
Damian Jackson
Irish School of Ecumenics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Abstract
Purpose –This paper aims to argue that traditional ethical theories used in disaster response may be
inadequate and particularly strained by the emergence of new technologies and social media, particularly
with regard to privacy.The paper suggests incorporation of care ethics intothe disaster ethics nexus to better
include theperspectives of disaster affected communities.
Design/methodology/approach –This paper presents a theoretical examination of privacy and care
ethics in the contextof social media/digitally enhanced disasterresponse.
Findings –The paper proposes an ethics of care can fruitfully by used by public and private agents in
disaster management. Its relational ontology restores the priority of fostering good relationships between
stakeholders, thus giving central importance to values such as transparency and trust and the situated
knowledgeof disaster-affected communities.
Research limitations/implications –This paper presents theoretical research and is limited by the
availability of empirical data.There is opportunity for future research to evaluate the impact of a conscious
adoptionof an ethics of care by disaster management agents.
Practical implications –An ethos of care ethics needs to be mainstreamed into disaster management
organisationsand digital initiatives.
Social implications –This paper argues that power asymmetry in disasterresponse renders the public
vulnerable to abuse, and that the adoption of care ethics can support disaster management agents in
recognisingthis power imbalance and wielding power responsibly.
Originality/value –This paper examines the applicability of an alternative ethical framework to novel
circumstances.
Keywords Privacy, Social media, Disaster management, Care ethics,
Emergency management information systems, Power asymmetry, Ushahidi
Paper type Conceptual paper
1. Introduction
The past decade has witnessed the emergence of social media as a potentially important source
of actionable information in disaster response and has seen it facilitate new volunteering
The research leading to these results was initially supported from the European Community’s
Seventh Framework Programme under grant agreement No. 607691 (SLANDAIL; 2014-2017).
Continued support was provided by the Start Impulse Program of the Dutch National Science Agenda
(NWA), under The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, VW Data P4 (#400.17.605).
Care ethics
157
Received11 February 2019
Revised17 August 2019
Accepted3 December 2019
Journalof Information,
Communicationand Ethics in
Society
Vol.18 No. 1, 2020
pp. 157-174
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1477-996X
DOI 10.1108/JICES-02-2019-0020
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/1477-996X.htm
opportunities (e.g. crisis mappers) and thus caring practices and new relationships between
formerly unrelated persons. With new opportunities, relationships (and changing relationships)
and new risks emerge, and informational norms are challenged or are uncertain. Agents in
positions of powers are expected to use their power responsibly and beneficently in dynamic
and uncertain circumstances, and values may come into tension between disaster operatives
and volunteers and disaster survivors.
Here, we argue that traditionalethical approaches, alone, may not satisfactorilyconstrain
and guide the use of power in a digitallyenhanced disaster response, but that incorporating
the conceptual resources of care ethics into the disaster ethics nexus can create additional
routes of ethical enquiry that emphasise further the needs and desires of disaster survivors
and their communities.
In what follows, we will first examine who the stakeholders in a digitally enhanced
disaster response are and briefly demonstrate some weaknesses of the existing theoretical
approachesin disaster ethics. Then, we will bring to the forethe value of privacy, arguing its
importanceand relevance in a digitally enhanceddisaster response, as well as demonstrating
the vulnerability of disaster survivorsto activities by more powerful agentsthat utilise their
personal data. Following this, we will outlinethe core concepts of care ethics, demonstrating
throughout how they may reduce power asymmetries and help disaster operatives and
volunteers better manage their power and respect privacy through critical reflection and
reflective analysis.We will conclude with somecases and further lessonsthat can strengthen
ethicaldisaster response that utilisesnew technologies and social mediadata.
2. Stakeholders, ethics, values and disaster response in an interconnected
world
There are many differentstakeholders involved directly and indirectly in a disaster.Some of
these are new categories of stakeholders, as technological developments change the way
information is shared and communicated.Some examples of stakeholders are:
state disaster management and response professionals;
charitable and civil society agencies and collectives (from traditional humanitarian
agencies, such as the Red Cross, to digital volunteer initiatives);
political figures;
disaster victims;
social media users and message subjects (posting and reading);
social media service providers; and
technology vendors.
Such stakeholders may not even be “local”to each other, as disaster response often entails
mobilisation and involvement of international organisations, volunteers and agencies,
importantly including digital volunteers who may get involved through technologically
innovative methods,including crowdsourced or automated informationextraction and crisis
mapping. Henceforth, we will refer to those actively involved in disaster response (whether
on the ground, so to speak, or remotely participating through technologicalmeans) disaster
operatives and volunteers.
Each of these stakeholders(individually or corporately) potentially holds differentvalues
to different weights, or even have differing conceptions of various values. This can lead to
value tensions or conflicts.An obvious example of such a conflict, dealt with throughout this
paper, is broadly that of privacyversus security, or safety. In such circumstances, decisions
JICES
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