How people feel about what companies do with their data is just as important as what they know about it

The recent revelation that Cambridge Analytica was able to acquire the Facebook data of 50 million people has led to a surge of interest and questions around what companies do with people's data. Amidst all of this, little attention has been paid to the feelings of those whose data are used, shared, and acted upon. According to Helen Kennedy, more qualitative understanding of how different people experience, negotiate, trust, distrust, or resist big data and data mining is required. Emotions and data are not separate. Given their significance, we need much more understanding of how people feel, as well as what they know, about what happens to their data.