'Making sense of data ethics. The powers behind the data ethics debate in European policymaking' by Gry Hasselbalch in (2019) 8(2)
Internet Policy Review comments
This article offers an analytical investigation of the different actors and forces that mould definitions of “data ethics” in European policy-making. It details how data ethics public policy initiatives took shape in the context of the European General Data Protection reform, and addresses the general uncertainty that exists regarding their role and function. The paper also presents an analytical framework for an action-oriented “data ethics of power” that aims to elucidate the power relations of the ‘Big Data Society’, arguing that we recognise data ethics policy initiatives as open-ended spaces of negotiation among different interest groups that seek to guide the cultural definition of “data ethics”, with complex power relations exercised via cultural positioning.
Hasselbalch argues
January 2018: The tweet hovered over my head: “Where are the ethicists?” I was on a panel in Brussels about data ethics and this wasn’t the first time a panel or initiative as such was questioned. There wasn’t the foundation proper, the right expertise was not included - the ethicists were missing, the humanists were missing, the legal experts were missing. The results, outcome and requirements of these initiatives were unclear. Would they water down the law? I understood the critiques though. How could we talk about data ethics when a law was just passed following a lengthy negotiation process on this very topic? What was the function of these discussions? If we were not there to acknowledge a consensus, that is, the legal solution, what then was the point?
In the slipstream of sweeping data protection law reform in Europe, discussions regarding data ethics has gained traction in European public policy-making. Numerous data ethics public policy initiatives have been created, moving beyond issues of mere compliance with data protection law to increasingly focus on the ethics of big data, especially concerning private companies’ and public institutions’ handling of personal data in digital forms. Reception in public discourse has been mixed. Although gaining significant public attention and interest, these data ethics policy initiatives have also been depicted as governmental “toothless wonders” (e.g., Hill, 24 November 2017) and a waste of resources, and have been criticised for drawing attention away from public institutions’ mishandling of citizens’ data (e.g., Ingeniøren’s managing panel, op ed, 16 March 2018) and for potential “ethics washing” (Wagner, 2018), questioning the expertise and interests involved in the initiatives, as well as their normative ethics frameworks.
This article constitutes an analytical investigation of the various dimensions and actors that shape definitions of data ethics in European policy-making. Specifically, I explore the role and function of European data ethics policy initiatives and present an argument regarding how and why they took shape in the context of a European data protection regulatory reform. The explicit use of the term “ethics” calls for a philosophical framework; the term “data” for a contemporary perspective of the critical role of information in a digitalised society; and the policy context for consensus-making and problem solving. Together, these views on the role of the data ethics policy initiatives are highly pertinent. However, taken separately they each provide a one-sided kaleidoscopic insight into their role and function. For example, a moral philosophical view concerning data ethics initiatives (in public policy-making as well as in the private industry) might not be vigilant of the embedded interests and power relations; pursuit of actionable policy results may overlook their function as spaces of negotiation and positioning; while viewing data ethics initiatives as something radically new in the age of big data can lose sight of their place in and relation to history and governance in general.
In my analysis, I therefore adopt an interdisciplinary approach that draws on methods and theories from different subfields within applied ethics, political science, sociology, culture and infrastructure/STS studies. A central thesis of this article is that we should perceive data ethics policy initiatives as open-ended spaces of negotiation embedded in complex socio-technical dynamics, which respond to multifaceted governance challenges extended over time. Thus, we should not view data ethics policy initiatives as solutions in their own right. They do not replace legal frameworks such as the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Rather, they complement existing law and may inspire, guide and even set in motion political, economic and educational processes that could foster an ethical “design” of the big data age, covering everything from the introduction of new laws, the implementation of policies and practices in organisations and companies and the development of new engineering standards, to awareness campaigns among citizens and educational initiatives.
In the following, I first outline a cross-disciplinary conceptualisation of data ethics, presenting what I define as an analytical framework for a data ethics of power. I then describe the data ethics public policy focus in the context of the GDPR. I recognise that ethics discussions are implicit in legislative processes. Nevertheless, in this article I do not specifically focus on the regulation’s negotiation process as such, but rather on policymakers’ explicit use of the term “data ethics”, and especially on the emergence of formal data ethics policy initiatives (for instance, committees, working groups, stated objectives and results), many of which followed the adoption of the GDPR. I subsequently move on to an analysis of data ethics as described in public policy reports, statements, interviews and events in the period 2015–2018. In conclusion, I take a step back and review the definition of data ethics. Today, data ethics is an idea, concept and method that is used in policy-making, but which has no shared definition. While more aligned conceptualisations of data ethics might provide a guiding step for a collective vision for actions in law, business and society in general, an argument that runs through this article is that there is no definition of data ethics in this space neutral of values and politics. Therefore, we must position ourselves within a context-specific type of ethical action.
This article is informed by a study that I am conducting on data ethics in governance and technology development in the period 2017-2020. In that study and this article, I use an ethnographically informed approach based on active and embedded participation in various data protection/internet governance policy events, working groups and initiatives. Qualitative embedded research entails an immersion of the researcher in the field of study as an active and engaged member to achieve thorough knowledge and understanding (Bourdieu, 1997; Bourdieu and Wacquant 1992; Goffman, 1974; Ingold, 2000; Wong, 2009). Thus, essential to my understanding of the underlying dimensions of the topic of this article is my active participation in the internet governance policy community. I was for example part of the Danish government’s data ethics expert committee (2018) and am part of the European Commission’s Artificial Intelligence High Level Expert group (2018-2020). I am also the founder of the non profit organisation DataEthics.eu, which is active in the field.
In this article, I also draw on ideas, concepts and opinions generated in interaction with nine active players (decision-makers, policy advisors and civil servants) whom contributed to my understanding of the policy-making dynamics by sharing their experiences with data ethics in European 1 policy-making (see further in references). The interviewees were informed about the study and that they would not be represented by name and institution in any publications, as I wanted them to be minimally influenced by institutional interests and requirements in their accounts.
