What are the benefits?
Four examples of ethical data strategies
Strategy 1
Innovative approaches to transparency
As the Google fine demonstrates, authorities want users know how their personal data is used. However, as technology develops, what’s happening behind the scenes is increasingly unclear. As a result, businesses might look to explore new methods of transparency that go beyond today’s ‘I agree’ privacy notices, such as:
Dashboards
Dashboards that give people greater control over their data preferences.
Just-in-time notices
Just-in-time notices that alert users at the point they ‘hand over’ their data and explain (clearly and concisely) what will happen next.
Icons
Icons that indicate when a certain type of data processing is taking place (eg marketing).
Enhanced functionality
Enhanced functionality on mobile or smart devices (eg vibrations, pressure-sensitive displays or swiping) that indicate when their location is being tracked, for example.
Strategy 2
Consumer-centric design
A topic of much debate at recent tech conferences, this is about putting consumers’ interests at the heart of business decision-making. By building ethical checks and balances into product development, service design and all levels of the data supply chain, businesses can ensure privacy is respected. Human-centric design is included in the EU’s recent guidance on the development of ethical AI.
Strategy 3
Data protection impact assessments
Taking an ethical approach to data protection impact statements can help businesses protect consumers and mitigate risk. Data protection impact assessments are required under the GDPR in certain high-risk situations (for example systematic or extensive profiling, data matching (combining data from multiple sources) and some forms of tracking individuals’ location or behaviour).
Strategy 4
Data ethics policy
Articulating your organisation’s approach to data ethics has numerous benefits, including influencing your corporate culture, demonstrating your values to your customers, building consumer trust and acting as a guide for those at the front line to follow. A data ethics policy can be supported by committees and management structures that help support accountability and governance in decision-making. Thinking clearly about what your organisation’s goals and direction should be with data as technology advances can also be useful from an investment and business development perspective.