Informational Self-Determination Databases in an Intercultural Perspective

Abstract

An Informational Self-Determination Database System allows to store, manage and query data while at the same time respecting the data subjects’ rights of information privacy. We argue that in a world of everincreasing amounts of data that are directly or indirectly related to identifiable individuals and which are being maintained by many organizations, it is of utmost importance to offer strong, effective and reliable concepts and mechanisms – technical, organizational as well as legal – to avoid adverse effects of information processing on people. We present a short motivation for our claims. We then sketch our vision of an Informational Self-Determination Database System and its working. We maintain that our approach offers a realistic, practical and pragmatic solution for enhancing people’s privacy, without hindering organizations in getting their business done.