Operationalizing a Responsible Data Ecosystem

Working with industry leaders, consumer advocates, lawyers, and technologists, this multistakeholder initiative aims to develop and deploy practical and impactful policy tools that increase responsible behaviour in the data ecosystem.

The Challenge

In an increasingly digital and digitized world, our personal data is not just an objective measure of who we are but an extension of ourselves. This data can and should be treated with care throughout the entirety of its life.

However, beyond initial notice and consent, there is a lack of clarity and consistency in how our personal data gets treated as it is used, shared and reused. This opacity along the data value chain has provided cover for bad actors, created unintended consequences and fueled a technology backlash.

The Opportunity

We must establish cross-industry, global practices that embed respect for individuals throughout the data value chain.  Working with consumer advocates, technologists, lawyers, digital activists, industry leaders, data experts and ethicists, we have the chance to align business practices with stakeholder values.

The Impact

Together, we envision a world in which data subjects are respected at every point in the data value chain. By assuring data is treated with care throughout it's life, we can establish meaningful trust with citizens. By providing implementable guidance, we can raise the standard at which industry operates and create clarity for ecosystem stakeholders. And, by aligning our practices with principles of trust, transparency, accountability and human-centricity, we can provide a blueprint for regulators.

If you are interested in learning more about this work, please reach out to datapolicy@weforum.org. We are actively seeking industry leaders and decision-makers, data experts at the implementation level, digital rights pioneers and consumer advocates to help us create policy tools for B2B data sharing that are ethical, practicable and enforceable.