We The People: A Playbook for Data Ethics in a Democratic Society

Just because we can do something, does that mean we should do it? While embracing the promise of technological advances and data-driven decision-making, a democratic society also must acknowledge and address potential harms to individuals, populations, and society as a whole. In this data ethics “playbook,” data governance practitioner and educator Kathy Rondon lays out potential problems in our collection, sharing, use, and retention of data, how those problems can negatively impact more than just an individual person’s privacy, and the questions we should be asking of ourselves and our data practices in order to “secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.” Applicable to both public sector and private sector entities operating in a democratic society, the playbook is both aspirational and actionable, offering a conceptual framework rather than an “ethics compliance checklist.” Using the goals of the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution to frame the conversation, the reader will come to understand how leveraging big data can promote democratic values…and how it can undermine them when ethical considerations take a back seat to unfettered data collection and use. Employing a case study model to delve into where missteps, usually unintentional, have occurred in data ethics practices, the author guides readers through the questions they should ask when undertaking a data-focused project. She also points out avenues for advocacy that readers can consider to promote better data-related laws, more effective organizational data policies, and well-articulated ethical frameworks. The result is a current and actionable approach to data ethics.