Subsidiarity is a principle of social organization that promotes human dignity and resists over-centralization by balancing personal autonomy with intervention from higher authorities only when necessary. Thus it is a relevant, but not previously explored, critical lens for discerning the tradeoffs between complete user control of software and surrendering control to "big tech" for convenience, as is common in surveillance capitalism. Our study explores data privacy through the lens of subsidiarity: we employ a multi-method approach of data flow monitoring and user interviews to determine the level of control different everyday technologies currently operate at, and the level of control everyday computer users think is necessary. We found that chat platforms like Slack and Discord violate subsidiarity the most. Our work provides insight into when users are willing to surrender privacy for convenience and demonstrates how subsidiarity can inform designs that promote human flourishing.

翻译：辅助性原则是一种社会组织原则，它通过平衡个人自主权与仅在必要时的高层干预，来促进人的尊严并抵制过度中心化。因此，对于辨别软件完全由用户控制与为便利而将控制权让渡给"大型科技公司"（正如监控资本主义中常见的那样）之间的权衡，该原则提供了一个相关但此前未被探讨的批判性视角。本研究通过辅助性原则的视角探讨数据隐私：我们采用数据流监控和用户访谈的多方法途径，以确定不同日常技术当前运行的控制层级，以及日常计算机用户认为必要的控制层级。我们发现，诸如Slack和Discord之类的聊天平台对辅助性原则的违反最为严重。我们的工作揭示了用户在何种情况下愿意为便利而牺牲隐私，并展示了辅助性原则如何能够指导促进人类繁荣的设计。