The European Commission has already issued (and is working on) several documents that set the stage for data policies, from the basic General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) specifically looking at Personal Data, to the Data Governance Act (DGA), to the definition of European Data Spaces (Gaia-X) and the European Digital Identity Wallets (eIDAS 2.0). The EU is now starting to work on Personal Digital Twins governance as a way to protect the individual (privacy) and the whole society in accordance with western values of societal wellbeing.

Where do you put a trust registry in a decentralized digital ecosystem? Not where it turns into a wrench!

This report unpacks and looks at the human consequences of these governance flaws, from speed and access to security and privacy of online information. It details how these flaws especially impact those who are already subject to surveillance or structural inequities, such as an activist texting meeting times on WhatsApp, or a low-income senior looking for a vaccine appointment. Crucially, the report offers recommendations to civil society, corporations, governments, and academics on how to align internet governance with the public interest, including calling on governance organizations to employ human rights impact assessments into the evaluations of norms and standards.

Mobile passes, QR codes and other digital credentials are increasingly required to access all manner of venues, activities and experiences in the physical world. Yet, despite our increasing exposure through digital identification, we have few laws or even norms to adequately govern these systems.

If you are interested in governance models, technology and AI, you might find it interesting to learn more about Japan’s recent “Agile Governance” proposal. You can find more info and links, as well as the conversation with Mr. Hiroki Habuka who was the main person driving this project further here.

Data is a powerful weapon in the fight against poverty—one that can potentially transform the lives of poor people. But it’s also a double-edged sword. New rules of the road are called for—a social contract for data—to get more value out of data while protecting people against harm and ensuring access and representation.

For the Global Technology Governance Summit, on 6-7 April 2021 six experts were asked: What is the key issue in data policy that is top of mind for you right now?

A democratic approach to policy-making calls for reliable and timely information to ensure effective decision making. The Government of Indonesia in light of this has introduced the Satu Data Initiative to improve the quality of data governance, not just for policy-making but also to increase transparency with open data for citizens.

A new approach to data sharing outlined by the European Commission (EC) last week could accelerate smart city initiatives. Potential benefits include more advanced solutions to climate change, health and mobility challenges; better ability to port innovation between cities; and new personalised services for residents.

This article takes a look at the key takeaways from the Data Governance Act and elaborates on how a MyData operator satisfies the functional and governance needs of a transparent and trustworthy data economy.

And there are multiple statements about this Data Governance Act: Euractiva, Sitra, Brussels Morning newspaper with a statement of Teemu

The view of AccessNow (and others) on the Data Governance Act.

Leaked copy of the European Commission’s Data Governance Act reveals key insights into how the Commission will seek to implement its European Strategy for Data.

More than 20 experts from the MyData community compiled a collective response to the act. Many of them representing personal data intermediaries. The official publication of the European Commission proposal is expected within a few weeks.

An unofficial whitelist and blacklist of practices of data gatekeepers.

Mozilla shares its intention and first report regarding data governance.

We are in the transition from an industrial society to an information society. As we've learned from the first 25 years of the life with the web, in the world of networked information, problems get solved differently – almost oppositely – than they did previously.

The EU’s draft data strategy set out its aim to promote a European data economy, while protecting individual rights and embedding ethical considerations in data governance. Data trusts offer a tool for bridging the gap between aspirations to share data and concerns about individual rights.
And Viivi shared an article with the US view on the EU funding personal data spaces as a trust: The EU is launching a market for personal data. Here’s what that means for privacy.

How do data trusts relate to data commons? When trying to make sense of the many data governance models and data sharing arrangements in existence this question comes up a lot. This article gives some basic insights into the relationship between a data commons and a data trust.
And the author (Anouk Ruhaak) also compiled a comprehensive reading list about the topic of Data Trusts.

How does your ideal digital future look like? Explore four scenarios on different data governance models and how this might shape our future.

Canada (and other countries) faces what can be called the data trilemma, whereby it is not possible to have simultaneously data that flows freely across borders, a high-trust data environment and a national data protection regime; one of these three objectives has to give so that only two are effectively possible at the same time. To resolve the data trilemma, Canada should work with its key economic partners — namely the European Union, Japan and the United States — to develop a single data area that would be managed by an international data standards board.

This initiative is a bit particular, with a focus of designing a governance model for a way how to translate GDPR requirements into technical standards. Your contributions on figuring out the governance model are more than welcome - we’ve organised a channel #anewgovernance where you can stay up to date of the developments.

AI is increasingly being embedded in our lives, supplementing our pervasive use of digital technologies. But this is being accompanied by disquiet over problematic and dangerous implementations of AI, or indeed, even AI itself deciding to do dangerous and problematic actions, especially in fields such as the military, medicine and criminal justice.