“We Traded Our Privacy for Comfortability” : A Study About How Big Data is Used and Abused by Major International Companies

Abstract: Due to digitalization, e-commerce and online presence is something most of us take for granted. Companies are moving more towards an internet-based arena of sales, rather than traditional commerce in physical stores. This development has led to that firms’ choses to market themselves through various online channels such as social media. Big data is our digital DNA that we leave behind on every part of the internet that we utilize. Big data has become an international commodity that can be sold, stored and used. The authors of this thesis have investigated the way international firms extract and use big data to construct customized marketing for their customers. This thesis has also examined the ethical perspective of how this commodity is handled and used, and people’s perception regarding the matter. This is interesting to investigate since very few researches has been previously conducted combining big data usage with ethics. To accomplish the aim of this thesis, significant theory has been reviewed and accounted for. Also, a qualitative research has been conducted, where two large companies that are working closely with big data has been investigated through a case-study. The authors have also conducted six semi-structured interviews with people between the age of 20-30 years old. The outcome of this thesis shows the importance of implementing ethics within the concept and usage of big data and provide insight into the mind of the consumer that has been lacking in previous research of this subject.