In June 2023, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced a grim milestone. The war in Ukraine, combined with upheaval in Afghanistan, Sudan, and other areas, had created a record 110 million forcibly displaced people globally. This situation, Filippo Grand, the head of UNHCR, announced, is “an indictment on the state of our world.”

2023’s upsurge in forced migration represents the intensification of an ongoing trend. Year after year, the world has witnessed unprecedented forcible movements of people. As policy makers struggle to respond to the unfolding human catastrophe, they have increasingly turned to the possibilities offered by technology, and data in particular. Civil society and humanitarian organizations are attuned to the reality that these streams of people generate massive amounts of data that can, for instance, help channel aid to the neediest, predict disease outbreaks, and much more.

Yet as is so often the case with technology, the potential for good is accompanied by certain risks. While data may be collected through individual consent, much of the refugee-associated data is used without the relevant populations being able to determine how, for what purpose, and for how long. The lack of agency on how their data is used means that migrant populations are susceptible to a variety of risks associated with group privacy, lack of autonomy, and personal security. These are exacerbated by the inherent power imbalances between migrants and those collecting the data, as well as by a frequent lack of data literacy among migrant populations.

Recognizing the significant benefits that can arise from the use and reuse of data to tackle contemporary challenges such as migration, it is worth exploring new approaches to collect and utilize data that empower individuals and communities, granting them the ability to determine how their data can be utilized for various personal, community, and societal causes. This need is not specific to migrants alone. It applies to various regions, populations, and fields, ranging from public health and education to urban mobility. There is a pressing demand to involve communities, often already vulnerable, to establish responsible access to their data that aligns with their expectations, while simultaneously serving the greater public good.

Read the full article about data consent by Stefaan G. Verhulst, Laura Sandor, and Julia Stamm at Stanford Social Innovation Review.