{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,16]],"date-time":"2026-01-16T19:06:11Z","timestamp":1768590371211,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":86,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2018,5,19]],"date-time":"2018-05-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1526688000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000925","name":"John Templeton Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000925","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100007234","name":"University of Chicago","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100007234","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["New Media &amp; Society"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2018,12]]},"abstract":"<jats:p> As World Economic Forum\u2019s definition of personal data as \u2018the new \u201coil\u201d \u2013 a valuable resource of the 21st century\u2019 shows, large-scale data processing is increasingly considered the defining feature of contemporary economy and society. Commercial and governmental discourse on data frequently argues its benefits, and so legitimates its continuous and large-scale extraction and processing as the starting point for developments in specific industries, and potentially as the basis for societies as a whole. Against the background of the General Data Protection Regulation, this article unravels how general discourse on data covers over the social practices enabling collection of data, through the analysis of high-profile business reports and case studies of health and education sectors. We show how conceptualisation of data as having a natural basis in the everyday world protects data collection from ethical questioning while endorsing the use and free flow of data within corporate control, at the expense of its potentially negative impacts on personal autonomy and human freedom. <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/1461444818775968","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2018,5,19]],"date-time":"2018-05-19T07:27:22Z","timestamp":1526714842000},"page":"4473-4491","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":84,"title":["Deconstructing datafication\u2019s brave new world"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"20","author":[{"given":"Nick","family":"Couldry","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"London School of Economics and Political Science, UK"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6178-3764","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jun","family":"Yu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"London School of Economics and Political Science, UK"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2018,5,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"bibr1-1461444818775968","unstructured":"23andMe (n.d.) Available at: https:\/\/www.23andme.com\/ (accessed 10 September 2017)."},{"key":"bibr2-1461444818775968","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1215\/9780822380788-001"},{"key":"bibr3-1461444818775968","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/01972243.2017.1318327"},{"key":"bibr4-1461444818775968","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1215\/9780822377269"},{"key":"bibr5-1461444818775968","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.4324\/9780203075319"},{"key":"bibr6-1461444818775968","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/CBO9781107590205.004"},{"key":"bibr7-1461444818775968","volume-title":"Reification, or the Anxiety of Late Capitalism","author":"Bewes T","year":"2002"},{"key":"bibr8-1461444818775968","unstructured":"Blackboard (n.d.) Available at: http:\/\/www.blackboard.com\/ (accessed 12 September 2017)."},{"key":"bibr9-1461444818775968","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7551\/mitpress\/6352.001.0001"},{"key":"bibr10-1461444818775968","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/1369118X.2012.678878"},{"key":"bibr11-1461444818775968","unstructured":"Breiter A, Jarke J (2016) Datafying education. Communicative Figurations, Working Paper No. 11. Available at: http:\/\/www.kommunikative-figurationen.de\/fileadmin\/redak_kofi\/Arbeitspapiere\/CoFi_EWP_No-11_Breiter_Jarke.pdf (accessed 15 September 2017)."},{"key":"bibr12-1461444818775968","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/000312240306800201"},{"key":"bibr13-1461444818775968","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/42411.42413"},{"key":"bibr14-1461444818775968","unstructured":"CNNum (French Digital Council) (2014) Platform neutrality. Opinion no. 2014-2 of the French Digital Council on platform neutrality, May. Available at: https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/futurium\/en\/system\/files\/ged\/platformneutrality_va.pdf (accessed 10 September 2017)."},{"key":"bibr15-1461444818775968","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2307\/1229517"},{"key":"bibr16-1461444818775968","volume-title":"Configuring the Networked Self","author":"Cohen J","year":"2012"},{"key":"bibr17-1461444818775968","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Cohen J (2017) The biopolitical public domain. Philosophy and Technology. Available at: https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s13347-017-0258-2 (accessed 20 September 2017).","DOI":"10.1007\/s13347-017-0258-2"},{"key":"bibr18-1461444818775968","volume-title":"Colonized by Data","author":"Couldry N"},{"key":"bibr19-1461444818775968","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.15358\/9783800648153"},{"key":"bibr20-1461444818775968","volume-title":"Experience and Education","author":"Dewey J","year":"1938"},{"key":"bibr21-1461444818775968","volume-title":"How Institutions Think","author":"Douglas M","year":"1986"},{"key":"bibr22-1461444818775968","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1086\/517897"},{"key":"bibr23-1461444818775968","unstructured":"(European) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (2016) REGULATION (EU) 2016\/679 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 27 April 2016. Official Journal of the European Union. Available at: http:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/justice\/data-protection\/reform\/files\/regulation_oj_en.pdf (accessed 20 September 2017)"},{"key":"bibr24-1461444818775968","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0098858817700245"},{"key":"bibr25-1461444818775968","unstructured":"Fitbit (n.d.) Available at: https:\/\/www.fitbit.com\/uk (accessed 10 September 2017)."},{"key":"bibr26-1461444818775968","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s13347-016-0220-8"},{"key":"bibr27-1461444818775968","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0896920511435710"},{"key":"bibr28-1461444818775968","volume-title":"The Panoptic Sort","author":"Gandy OH","year":"1993"},{"key":"bibr29-1461444818775968","unstructured":"(The) German Constitution (n.d.) Available at: https:\/\/www.gesetze-im-internet.de\/englisch_gg\/englisch_gg.html (accessed 10 September 2017)."},{"key":"bibr30-1461444818775968","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7551\/mitpress\/9302.001.0001"},{"key":"bibr31-1461444818775968","unstructured":"Google DeepMind Health (n.d.) Available at: https:\/\/deepmind.com\/health.html (accessed 10 September 2017)."},{"key":"bibr32-1461444818775968","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.4337\/9781849808774"},{"key":"bibr33-1461444818775968","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1057\/s41292-016-0004-5"},{"key":"bibr34-1461444818775968","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/acprof:oso\/9780195320466.001.0001"},{"key":"bibr35-1461444818775968","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.clsr.2008.11.002"},{"key":"bibr36-1461444818775968","unstructured":"Ibarra IA, Goff L, Hernandez DJ, et al. (2017) Should we treat data as labor? Moving beyond \u2018free\u2019. American Economic Association Papers & Proceedings 1(1). Available at: https:\/\/papers.ssrn.com\/sol3\/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3093683 (accessed 3 January 2018)."},{"key":"bibr37-1461444818775968","unstructured":"IBM (2016) First IBM Watson Education App for iPad Delivers Personalized Learning for K-12 Teachers and Students. Available at: http:\/\/www-03.ibm.com\/press\/us\/en\/pressrelease\/50815.wss (accessed 10 September 2017)."},{"key":"bibr38-1461444818775968","unstructured":"IBM Education (n.d.) Available at: https:\/\/www-935.ibm.com\/industries\/education\/learning.html (accessed 20 September 2017)."},{"key":"bibr39-1461444818775968","unstructured":"IBM Newsroom (n.d.) Available at: https:\/\/www-03.ibm.com\/press\/us\/en\/index.wss (accessed 20 September 2017)."},{"key":"bibr40-1461444818775968","unstructured":"IBM Watson Education (n.d.) Available at: https:\/\/www.ibm.com\/watson\/education\/ (accessed 20 September 2017)."},{"key":"bibr41-1461444818775968","unstructured":"IBM Watson Health (n.d.) Available at: https:\/\/www.ibm.com\/watson\/health\/ (accessed 20 September 2017)."},{"key":"bibr42-1461444818775968","unstructured":"Impero Education (n.d.) Available at: https:\/\/www.imperosoftware.com\/ (accessed 20 September 2017)."},{"key":"bibr43-1461444818775968","unstructured":"Impero Education (2016) Digital citizenship: a holistic primer. White paper. Available at: http:\/\/www.learningnetwork.ac.nz\/shared\/professionalReading\/DIGCIT.pdf (accessed 20 September 2017)."},{"key":"bibr44-1461444818775968","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/S0963180114000589"},{"key":"bibr45-1461444818775968","unstructured":"Knewton (n.d.) Available at: https:\/\/www.knewton.com (accessed 10 October 2017)."},{"key":"bibr46-1461444818775968","unstructured":"Knewton, Adaptive Learning White Paper (n.d.) Available at: https:\/\/www.knewton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/knewton-adaptive-learning-whitepaper.pdf (accessed 10 October 2017)."},{"key":"bibr47-1461444818775968","volume-title":"Who Owns the Future?","author":"Lanier J","year":"2014"},{"issue":"2","key":"bibr48-1461444818775968","first-page":"404","volume":"9","author":"Lessig L","year":"1999","journal-title":"Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal"},{"key":"bibr49-1461444818775968","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/03085147.2016.1143726"},{"key":"bibr50-1461444818775968","volume-title":"The Quantified Self","author":"Lupton D","year":"2016"},{"key":"bibr51-1461444818775968","unstructured":"McKinsey (2011) Big Data: the next frontier for innovation, competition, and productivity. Report, McKinsey Global Institute, June. Available at: https:\/\/www.mckinsey.com\/~\/media\/McKinsey\/Business%20Functions\/McKinsey%20Digital\/Our%20Insights\/Big%20data%20The%20next%20frontier%20for%20innovation\/MGI_big_data_full_report.ashx (accessed 10 September 2017)."},{"key":"bibr52-1461444818775968","unstructured":"McKinsey (2013) The \u2018big data\u2019 revolution in healthcare. Report, McKinsey and Company, January. Available at: https:\/\/www.mckinsey.com\/~\/media\/mckinsey\/industries\/healthcare%20systems%20and%20services\/our%20insights\/the%20big%20data%20revolution%20in%20us%20health%20care\/the_big_data_revolution_in_healthcare.ashx (accessed 10 September 2017)."},{"key":"bibr53-1461444818775968","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1089\/big.2013.0029"},{"key":"bibr54-1461444818775968","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7551\/mitpress\/10421.001.0001"},{"key":"bibr55-1461444818775968","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Nissenbaum H (2017) Deregulating collection: must privacy give way to use regulation? Available at: https:\/\/papers.ssrn.com\/sol3\/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3092282 (accessed 10 January 2018).","DOI":"10.2139\/ssrn.3092282"},{"key":"bibr56-1461444818775968","volume-title":"Data-Driven Innovation","author":"Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)","year":"2015"},{"key":"bibr57-1461444818775968","unstructured":"PatientsLikeMe (n.d.) Available at: https:\/\/www.patientslikeme.com\/ (accessed 15 September 2017)."},{"key":"bibr58-1461444818775968","unstructured":"Pearson (n.d.) Available at: https:\/\/www.pearson.com\/ (accessed 15 September 2017)."},{"key":"bibr59-1461444818775968","unstructured":"Pearson (2014a) Impacts of the digital ocean on education. Report, February. Available at: https:\/\/www.pearson.com\/content\/dam\/one-dot-com\/one-dot-com\/global\/Files\/about-pearson\/innovation\/open-ideas\/DigitalOcean.pdf (accessed 15 September 2017)."},{"key":"bibr60-1461444818775968","unstructured":"Pearson (2014b) Preparing for a renaissance in assessment. Report, December. Available at: https:\/\/www.pearson.com\/content\/dam\/one-dot-com\/one-dot-com\/uk\/documents\/educator\/primary\/preparing_for_a_renaissance_in_assessment_and_summary_text_december_2014.pdf"},{"key":"bibr61-1461444818775968","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/CBO9780511808005"},{"key":"bibr62-1461444818775968","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1515\/9781400821617"},{"key":"bibr63-1461444818775968","unstructured":"Quan-Haase A, Wellman B (2005) Hyperconnected net work. Working Paper Series, KMDI-WP-2005-2, 9 June. Available at: https:\/\/pdfs.semanticscholar.org\/41ec\/9ad4f369d6ff7610554739b7c9ee0752d7cd.pdf (accessed 5 September 2017)."},{"key":"bibr64-1461444818775968","volume-title":"Intellectual Privacy","author":"Richards N","year":"2015"},{"key":"bibr65-1461444818775968","volume-title":"The Zero Marginal Cost Society","author":"Rifkin J","year":"2013"},{"key":"bibr66-1461444818775968","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/978-1-4020-9498-9_2"},{"key":"bibr67-1461444818775968","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev-anthro-102116-041244"},{"key":"bibr68-1461444818775968","unstructured":"Schneier B (2013) The public-private surveillance partnership. Bloomberg View, 31 July. Available at: https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/view\/articles\/2013-07-31\/the-public-private-surveillance-partnership (accessed 5 September 2017)."},{"key":"bibr69-1461444818775968","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.4324\/9781315768656"},{"issue":"3","key":"bibr70-1461444818775968","first-page":"1","volume":"15","author":"Siemens G","year":"2012","journal-title":"Educational Technology and Society"},{"key":"bibr71-1461444818775968","volume-title":"The Patient Will See You Now","author":"Topol E","year":"2015"},{"key":"bibr72-1461444818775968","unstructured":"Under Armour (n.d.) Privacy policy. Available at: https:\/\/account.underarmour.com\/privacy?embedded=1 (accessed 10 September 2017)."},{"key":"bibr73-1461444818775968","unstructured":"United Nations (UN) (2012) Big Data for development. Report, United Nations Global Pulse, May. Available at: http:\/\/www.unglobalpulse.org\/sites\/default\/files\/BigDataforDevelopment-UNGlobalPulseMay2012.pdf (accessed 10 September 2017)."},{"key":"bibr74-1461444818775968","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.24908\/ss.v12i2.4776"},{"key":"bibr75-1461444818775968","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1461444809105356"},{"key":"bibr76-1461444818775968","unstructured":"WRR (The Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy) (2017) Big Data and security policies. WRR-Policy Brief 6, January. Available at: https:\/\/english.wrr.nl\/binaries\/wrr-eng\/documents\/policy-briefs\/2017\/01\/31\/big-data-and-security-policies-serving-security-protecting-freedom\/WRR_PB6_BigDataAndSecurityPolicies.pdf (accessed 10 September 2017)."},{"key":"bibr77-1461444818775968","volume-title":"Data for the People","author":"Weigend A","year":"2017"},{"key":"bibr78-1461444818775968","unstructured":"White House (2014a) Big Data and privacy. Report for the Executive Office of the President, May. Available at: https:\/\/obamawhitehouse.archives.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/microsites\/ostp\/PCAST\/pcast_big_data_and_privacy_-_may_2014.pdf (accessed 10 September 2017)."},{"key":"bibr79-1461444818775968","unstructured":"White House (2014b) Big data: seizing opportunities, preserving values. Report for the Executive Office of the President, May. Available at: https:\/\/obamawhitehouse.archives.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/docs\/big_data_privacy_report_may_1_2014.pdf (accessed 10 September 2017)."},{"key":"bibr80-1461444818775968","first-page":"50","volume-title":"Surveillance Futures","author":"Williamson B","year":"2016"},{"key":"bibr81-1461444818775968","unstructured":"World Economic Forum (WEF) (2011) Personal data: the emergence of a new asset class. Report, January. Available at: http:\/\/www3.weforum.org\/docs\/WEF_ITTC_PersonalDataNewAsset_Report_2011.pdf (accessed 10 September 2017)."},{"key":"bibr82-1461444818775968","unstructured":"World Economic Forum (WEF) (2012a) Big Data, big impact. Report. Available at: http:\/\/www3.weforum.org\/docs\/WEF_TC_MFS_BigDataBigImpact_Briefing_2012.pdf (accessed 10 September 2017)."},{"key":"bibr83-1461444818775968","unstructured":"World Economic Forum (WEF) (2012b) The global information technology report 2012. Report. Available at: http:\/\/www3.weforum.org\/docs\/Global_IT_Report_2012.pdf (accessed 10 September 2017)"},{"key":"bibr84-1461444818775968","unstructured":"World Economic Forum (WEF) (2012c) Rethinking personal data. Report, May. Available at: http:\/\/www3.weforum.org\/docs\/WEF_IT_RethinkingPersonalData_Report_2012.pdf (accessed 10 September 2017)."},{"key":"bibr85-1461444818775968","unstructured":"World Economic Forum (WEF) (2013) Unlocking the value of personal data. Report, February. Available at: http:\/\/www3.weforum.org\/docs\/WEF_IT_UnlockingValuePersonalData_CollectionUsage_Report_2013.pdf (accessed 10 September 2017)."},{"key":"bibr86-1461444818775968","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1057\/jit.2015.5"}],"container-title":["New Media &amp; Society"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/1461444818775968","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1177\/1461444818775968","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/1461444818775968","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,1]],"date-time":"2025-03-01T09:17:54Z","timestamp":1740820674000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/1461444818775968"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2018,5,19]]},"references-count":86,"journal-issue":{"issue":"12","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2018,12]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1177\/1461444818775968"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/1461444818775968","relation":{},"ISSN":["1461-4448","1461-7315"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1461-4448","type":"print"},{"value":"1461-7315","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2018,5,19]]}}}