Privacy by Design: an alternative to existing practice in safeguarding privacy

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop/elaborate the concept Privacy by Design (PbD) and to explore the validity of the PbD framework. Design/methodology/approach Attention for alternative concepts, such as PbD, which might offer surplus value in safeguarding privacy, is growing. Using PbD to design for privacy in ICT systems is still rather underexplored and requires substantial conceptual and empirical work to be done. The methodology includes conceptual analysis, empirical validation (focus groups and interviews) and technological testing (a technical demonstrator was build). Findings A holistic PbD approach can offer surplus value in better safeguarding of privacy without losing functional requirements. However, the implementation is not easily realised and confronted with several difficulties such as: potential lack of economic incentives, legacy systems, lack of adoption of trust of end‐users and consumers in PbD. Originality/value The article brings together/incorporates several contemporary insights on privacy protection and privacy by design and develops/presents a holistic framework for Privacy by Design framework consisting of five building blocks.