How to address data privacy concerns when using social media data in conservation science

TLDR

Social media data are increasingly used in conservation science to study human–nature interactions, but researchers must adhere to stringent data privacy standards because misuse can lead to significant privacy and well‑being risks, including misidentification that may cause harm. The study examined the legal basis for using social media data while safeguarding data subjects’ rights via a GDPR‑based case study. The authors recommend minimizing and anonymizing data, following strict management procedures, and conducting risk‑based privacy impact assessments to identify and mitigate privacy risks and demonstrate accountability. The authors recommend that conservation scientists adopt these privacy‑risk mitigation practices when designing studies, such as in conservation culturomics and online wildlife‑trade investigations, to ensure responsible use of social media data.

Abstract

Abstract Social media data are being increasingly used in conservation science to study human–nature interactions. User‐generated content, such as images, video, text, and audio, and the associated metadata can be used to assess such interactions. A number of social media platforms provide free access to user‐generated social media content. However, similar to any research involving people, scientific investigations based on social media data require compliance with highest standards of data privacy and data protection, even when data are publicly available. Should social media data be misused, the risks to individual users' privacy and well‐being can be substantial. We investigated the legal basis for using social media data while ensuring data subjects’ rights through a case study based on the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation. The risks associated with using social media data in research include accidental and purposeful misidentification that has the potential to cause psychological or physical harm to an identified person. To collect, store, protect, share, and manage social media data in a way that prevents potential risks to users involved, one should minimize data, anonymize data, and follow strict data management procedure. Risk‐based approaches, such as a data privacy impact assessment, can be used to identify and minimize privacy risks to social media users, to demonstrate accountability and to comply with data protection legislation. We recommend that conservation scientists carefully consider our recommendations in devising their research objectives so as to facilitate responsible use of social media data in conservation science research, for example, in conservation culturomics and investigations of illegal wildlife trade online.