The tech company dilemma : navigating government requests for user data
Isabel Laura Ebert · Alexandria (UniSG) (University of St.Gallen) · 2021
This research is located in the discourse around structural opacity and absence of information of the state-business nexus in the data economy, departing from a Business & Human rights angle. Using a qualitative research design, this thesis investigates how companies are responding to unusual government requests for user data. Through a sensemaking approach, eight dimensions are constructed that allow one to conceptualize the corporate response to disclosure requests further. The findings show that a persisting frequency of unusual requests can lead to a move from sensemaking to sensegiving, allowing companies to “normalize the unusual”. At the same time, crisis moments persist that trigger sensemaking. Nevertheless, companies increasingly embrace a human rights approach through a close proximity in management between headquarter and subsidiary. The findings also depict how current regulation can constitute a stark impediment to genuine public communication around data disclosure requests.