How Datafication Affects the Welfare State and Social Solidarity

Abstract

This commentary discusses the main implications of the datafication of welfare services, particularly from the perspective of Finland, on the basis of research conducted in the past five years in the field of public service media, welfare state values and data inequalities. I argue that we should not only look at the practical level of digital tools and data-driven services, but should also think more profoundly about how these technologies shape society, particularly with regard to the sense of solidarity, social justice, and equality.