ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to develop a better understanding of the rise of Big Data in public policy. Big Data’s status is that of a raw material to be mined and exploited, a digital lubricant of growth and progress. While public debate about the impacts of Big Data is polarised and critical, the European Commission upholds a decidedly positive vision, promoting the widespread use of modern data analytics as an opportunity not to be missed. The chapter examines key sociotechnical imaginaries as they manifest in official policy documents, with publications of the European Commission serving as the main empirical material. Tracing the Commission’s Big Data imaginary through respective policy documents thus provides insight into the values and aspirations of a key political actor whose normative power can be expected to play a formative role in the creation and design of our digital future.
