"This report is an invitation to grapple with the complex interplay between infrastructure, media systems, civil society, and public sector institutions. Our findings suggest that effective policy solutions must: acknowledge the historical, political, economic, and social forces that shape informati
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on flows and sociotechnical systems; develop holistic approaches that consider the entire ecosystem rather than isolated interventions; understand how data governance and AI systems fundamentally influence information production, dissemination, and consumption; use a wider array of authorities and policy tools to create legal, regulatory and normative frameworks that protect democratic values while empowering communities and individuals who are embedded in increasingly opaque sociotechnical systems. By exploring both individual-level phenomena and systemic dynamics, this report suggests how legislative, regulatory, competition, education and other public authorities as well as tech platforms and citizens themselves all have a role to play in cultivating information ecosystems where democracy can better thrive." (Foreword by Courtney Radsch, page v-vi)
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"Although many data justice projects envision just datafied societies, their focus on participatory ‘solutions’ to remedy injustice leaves important discussions out. For example, there has been little discussion of the meaning of data justice and its participatory underpinnings in authoritarian
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contexts. Additionally, the subjects of data justice are treated as universal decision-making individuals unaffected by the procedures of datafication itself. To tackle such questions, this paper starts with studying the trajectory of data justice as a concept and reflects on both its data and justice elements. It conceptualises data as embedded within a network of associations opening up a multi-level, multiactor, intersectional understanding of data justice. Furthermore, it discusses five major conceptualisations of data justice based on social justice, capabilities, structural, sphere transgression, and abnormality of justice approaches. Discussing the limits and potentials of each of these categories, the paper argues that many of the existing participatory approaches are formulated within the neoliberal binary of choice: exit or voice (Hirschman, 1970). Transcending this binary and using postcolonial theories, the paper discusses the dehumanisation of individuals and groups as an integral part of datafication and underlines the inadequacy of digital harms, data protection, and privacy discourses in that regard. Finally, the paper reflects on the politics of data justice as an emancipatory concept capable of transforming standardised concepts such as digital literacy to liberating pedagogies for reclaiming the lost humanity of the oppressed (Freire, 1970) or evoking the possibility for multiple trajectories beyond the emerging hegemony of data capitalism." (Abstract)
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"This paper investigates open public data and data sharing reforms in Australia (2018–2022) and their potential role in deepening the ‘data divide’. In the contemporary datafied welfare state, open public data and data sharing are increasingly vexed issues in times of data-driven artificial in
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telligence (AI). We scrutinise public consultation surrounding the establishment of the Australian Data Availability and Transparency Act 2022 (DAT Act). Through topic modelling and critical discourse analysis, the study examines the representation and concerns of marginalised groups in the reform process. We highlight the overlooked role of non-profits and civil society in the public data ecosystem. The analysis emphasises the significant yet unacknowledged contributions of these organisations in advocating for data equity and justice. We argue that responsible and equitable public data practices do not just depend on administrative and technical procedures for data sharing but are fundamentally entwined with the social and institutional hierarchies in which public data is produced and used. The study calls for greater inclusion and support for civil society organisations to bridge the data divide, contributing to broader debates on the merits and challenges of open data and data sharing practices within a data justice framework." (Abstract)
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"Since the early 2010s, humanitarian donors have increasingly contracted private firms to monitor and evaluate humanitarian activities, accompanied by a promise of improving accountability through their data and data analytics. This article contributes to scholarship on data practices in the humanit
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arian sector by interrogating the implications of this new set of actors on humanitarian accountability relations. Drawing on insights from 60 interviews with humanitarian donors, implementing agencies, third-party monitors and data enumerators in Somalia, this article interrogates data narratives and data practices around thirdparty monitoring. We find that, while humanitarian donors are highly aware of challenges to accountability within the sector, there is a less critical view of data challenges and limitations by these external firms. This fuels donor optimism about third-party monitoring data, while obscuring the ways that third-partymonitoring data practices are complicating accountability relations in practice. Resultant data practices, which are aimed at separating data from the people involved, reproduce power asymmetries around the well-being and expertise of the Global North versus Global South. This challenges accountability to donors and to crisis-affected communities, by providing a partial view of reality that is, at the same time, assumed to be reflective of crisis- affected communities’ experiences. This article contributes to critical data studies by showing howmonitoring data practices intended to improve accountability relations are imbued with, and reproduce, power asymmetries that silence local actors." (Abstract)
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"This toolkit advocates taking a Human Rights-based approach to data governance. This means ensuring that data practices—across the full data lifecycle from collection to (re()use— should respect, protect, and fulfill the rights and freedoms of individuals and communities. This also entails trea
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ting data governance not just as a technical or compliance function, but as a rights-centered data governance practice." (Page 16)
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"Algorithms have risen to become one, if not the central technology for producing, circulating, and evaluating knowledge in multiple societal arenas. In this book, scholars from the social sciences, humanities, and computer science argue that this shift has, and will continue to have, profound impli
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cations for how knowledge is produced and what and whose knowledge is valued and deemed valid. To attend to this fundamental change, the authors propose the concept of algorithmic regimes and demonstrate how they transform the epistemological, methodological, and political foundations of knowledge production, sensemaking, and decision-making in contemporary societies. Across sixteen chapters, the volume offers a diverse collection of contributions along three perspectives on algorithmic regimes: the methods necessary to research and design algorithmic regimes, the ways in which algorithmic regimes reconfigure sociotechnical interactions, and the politics engrained in algorithmic regimes." (Publisher description)
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"The article aims to theorize about critical data studies with Latin America beyond the framework of data colonialism, arguing that the long history of social thought in the region can contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the datafication. It discusses views around dependence, oppressions,
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and liberation, debating how Latin American authors can be useful for current critical data studies, in a more nuanced and complex vision. It presents the theoretical contributions of Lelia Gonzalez, dependency theorists and Enrique Dussel. Dependency theorists criticize evolutionary frameworks of development and can contribute to discussions around data sovereignty and overexploitation of labor. Gonzalez contributes to a complex vision of Amefrica Ladina, articulating multiple forms of oppression. Enrique Dussel presents a theory of technology considering totality and proposes an ethics of liberation that can be related to alternatives toward data justice and data commons. All theoretical frameworks contribute to thinking about datafication with Latin America not as an isolated phenomenon, but in relation to other countries in the world, and as an analytical key for the construction of alternatives. All perspectives are related to current debates on critical data studies and can make an important contribution to the construction of critical theories about data that consider Latin America also as a site of knowledge production." (Abstract)
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"The frameworks of cyber, technology and data sovereignty have become some of the most influential alternative technological imaginaries. Developed by states and civil society groups, such frameworks are seducing a broad range of actors seeking to reassert their autonomy and self-determination in re
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lation to digital technology and infrastructure. Against this backdrop, this article interrogates the alleged transformative character of digital sovereignty. Do these frameworks support alternative planetary futures, or do they involve a mere change in the actors who are privileging from the technological status quo? To answer this question, I examine the rhetoric and realisation of digital sovereignty frameworks by the Chinese state, the European Union (EU) and Latin American civil society in light of Walter Mignolo’s decolonial option. The decolonial option gets inspiration from decolonial praxis and aims at enabling polycentric, noncapitalist and nonanthropocentric planetary futures. As I show, there is some degree of alignment between digital sovereignty frameworks and the decolonial option in the sphere of international politics, but less so in the world economy and the environment. While in some areas the formulations by the Chinese state and the EU can exacerbate coloniality, the Latin American civil society one constitutes a promising attempt at appropriating digital sovereignty from below and promoting peaceful forms of coexistence with the environment although needs further development." (Abstract)
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"Over the past decade, China has gradually begun to take a more proactive approach to digital development, passing a range of policies that aim to restructure how data is treated within its national economic system. These policies reflect the construction of a new data ecology in which data is gradu
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ally reconceptualized as a quasi-public good, rather than a private good. Strategic interventions aim to increase data circulation and supply, with the goal of promoting high-quality economic growth. Central to these reforms is the designation of data as a factor of production, which accelerates the authority of the communist party to shape the allocation of data within the national economic system. Viewed holistically, these policies reflect an intentional effort to construct a more communal data ecosystem that facilitates increased data circulation in support of a state-led centralized approach to social and economic development. What emerges is a variety of data communism, in which data resources are increasingly conceptualized to serve collective interests rather than the interests of capital." (Abstract)
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"Starting from the recognition of the limits of today’s common essentialist and axiological understandings of data and ethics, in this article we make the case for an ecosystemic understanding of data ethics (for the city) that accounts for the inherent value-laden entanglements and unintended (bo
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th positive and negative) consequences of the development, implementation, and use of data-driven technologies in real-life contexts. To operationalize our view, we conceived and taught a master course titled ‘Ethics for the data-driven city’ delivered within the Department of Urbanism at the Delft University of Technology. By endorsing a definition of data as a sociotechnical process, of ethics as a collective practice, and of the city as a complex system, the course enacts a transdisciplinary approach and problem-opening method that compel students to recognize and tackle the unavoidable multifacetedness of all ethical stances, as well as the intrinsic open-endedness of all tech solutions, thus seeking a fair balance for the whole data-driven urban environment. The article discusses the results of the teaching experience, which took the form of a research-and-design workshop, alongside the students’ feedback and further pedagogical developments." (Abstract)
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"What kind of “democracy” do new government-led digital initiatives facilitate? This paper discusses the issue by investigating the open government data policy in Taiwan in the 2010s, asking whether the policy encouraged “strong democracy.” Using interviews, written records, and an analysis
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of platform design, I argue that the implementation of Taiwan’s open data policy has not institutionalized the engagement of civil society groups or ordinary citizens in government decision-making processes, which is at odds with the claims that open government data encourages “strong democracy.”Instead, open government data in Taiwan has facilitated monitorial democracy, which presupposes watchful but not active citizens, and neoliberal democracy, which presupposes profit-pursuing citizens. Both are more in line with “thin democracy,” which focuses more on individual rights and private interests than on participation and political community. The finding sheds light on why conservative governments around the world often embrace open government initiatives." (Abstract)
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"This essay argues that Latin American scholarship and movement practice are key to understanding the dynamics of the datafied society and countering its inequities. Examining the sources of inspiration of a frontrunner seeking to decolonize the datafied society – the Big Data from the South Initi
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ative (BigDataSur) – we review Martín-Barbero’s ontological shift from media to mediations, Freire’s methodology centring individual agency and empowerment as a structural task of society, Mignolo’s invite to take decoloniality as a praxis rather than merely an idea, Rodríguez’s first-hand engagement with technology at the margins, Escobar’s autonomous design for the pluriverse, and the critical ecology of eco-social movements. We engage with a new generation of Latin American thinkers who turn their gaze to core problems of today’s systems of knowledge production, be they media or academia. Learning from these scholars, we warn against decolonial reductionism, namely the trend to evoke decolonial ideas and theories without fully committing to putting them into practice. We maintain that to decolonize datafication, we ought to also change how we generate knowledge about the datafied society. We outline three practical strategies that foster an open-ended dialogue on alternative approaches to datafication and scientific practice: multilingualism, public scholarship, and mentorship." (Abstract)
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"In the last decade, the Global South has emerged as a significant player in the data economy due to their majority user base, and studying its role is crucial to comprehend the future of AI. As societies grapple with the implications of AI on creative life, there is an opportunity to reevaluate the
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creative contributions of Global South cultures, ensuring they are acknowledged and foregrounded in the evolving landscape of human and machine creativity. This paper calls for reimagining and restructuring creative value with the emergence of AI enabled technologies by broadening who and what counts as creative in this data-driven era. To democratize creativity, a decolonial and indigenous framework of cross-cultural creative value is needed which critically intersects and examines the relations between creative labor, rights, and learning. The study of the Global South’s data economies is important not only to harness its potential but also to address the cross-cultural ethics of building Creative AI tools with data from their underrepresented communities. At its core, the creative data justice framework emphasizes the need to challenge the existing power imbalances in global data governance. This paper proposes that fair creative value can be achieved by drawing inspiration from indigenous systems of care as a counterforce to neoliberal values of efficiency and utility. This framework will help scholars, policymakers and designers in their inclusive approaches to creativity in the age of AI." (Abstract)
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"Maori data sovereignty, an extension of Indigenous data sovereignty, is gaining recognition as a vital element of data-related strategy, management, policy, and culture in New Zealand. Driven by the principles of tino-rangatiratanga and Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Maori data sovereignty emphasizes Maori
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self-determination and control over their data. This article explores the significance of Maori data sovereignty within public and private sector organizations in New Zealand through interviews with data experts. The outcomes of this research highlight the importance of building relationships based on trust (whanaungatanga), asserting the right to selfdetermination (rangatiratanga), working collectively for the benefit of all (kotahitanga), and promoting learning and capacity building (akoranga) as key principles of Maori data sovereignty. While there is a growing recognition of Maori data sovereignty, power imbalances and the need for greater education and awareness persist. The study emphasizes the need for organizations to embrace a kaupapa Maori lens and tikanga Maori values to foster inclusive data cultures that uphold the rights and aspirations of Maori communities. Collaboration and further research are essential to advance Maori data sovereignty and integrate its principles into information policies and practices across sectors, thus promoting a data culture that respects Indigenous rights and collective well-being." (Abstract)
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"Das neue umfassende Standardwerk für den Bereich der Digitalen Ethik. Das Handbuch verschafft einen Überblick über die Herausforderungen und Besonderheiten der Ethik im digitalen Raum und versammelt namhafte Expert:innen zu folgenden Themenfeldern: Theoretische Zugänge (Deontologische Ansätze,
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Narrative Ethik, Trans- und posthumane Ansätze u.a.m.); Werte der Digitalen Ethik (Gerechtigkeit, Autonomie, Privatheit u.a.m.); Diskurse (Benachteiligung, Überwachung, Datenschutz u.a.m.); Praxisfelder (Kommunikation, Gaming, Lernen und Bildung u.a.m.)." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"Recent legislation on data linking national security and cybersecurity undermines the creation of a trustworthy data environment. Restrictions on information flows have immediate and medium-term costs to digital economic activity, which in turn have knock-on effects for the prospect of any subseque
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nt tax revenue. Extended economic instability is the main limiting factor for the growth of a digital society, but other limiting factors can be alleviated with mild targeted reform. A new policy agenda is required for the state to aid Zimbabweans to improve their life-chances, livelihoods and wellbeing with digital means. A policy framework to create enduring, affordable access through infrastructure extension and reliable connectivity can allow Zimbabweans to trade their goods and services online. These actions can help realise the principles of the African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms and facilitate Zimbabweans innovating within the global digital economy." (Key points)
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"Authoritarian practices are not strictly limited to authoritarian states; they are employed by regimes that span the political spectrum. The research approach argues for expanding the understanding of key authoritarian strategies to include persuasion alongside coercion and cooptation, which are id
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entified in academic literature as key approaches to consolidating power and building stability in authoritarian states. States are not only restricting access to information technologies, but are also actively investing in technologies of control, as well as shaping media ecosystems. States employ a range of strategies that often work in combination, such as: restricting information access, targeting expression, and pushing narratives. State opacity about the extent of their repressive capacities is a feature, not a bug. This allows states to make claims about their capabilities that create fear and distrust even if inaccurate or untrue. The combined use of information technologies to surveil, censor, and shape information ecosystems aid in “preventative repression,” making resistance and opposition more difficult and costly. Policy recommendations to help resist authoritarian practices face the complicated challenge of how to regulate dual-use and surveillance technologies that were developed for security and commercial applications, but that also facilitate authoritarian practices. There is an active debate about whether surveillance for commercial or consumer purposes, border controls and policing is mostly or inherently authoritarian in practice." (Summary of observations, page 6-7)
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"This desk review report provides an overview of data governance in Africa, exploring policy frameworks, implementation challenges, regional collaborations, capacity building, governmental initiatives, civil society engagement, and academia's role. The continent's increasing reliance on digital syst
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ems has spurred a surge in data production, necessitating robust governance frameworks. While progress is evident with the enactment of data protection laws and establishment of regulatory bodies, implementation challenges persist due to resource constraints and political complexities.
Regional collaborations within Africa, particularly among East African Community (EAC), Southern African Development Community (SADC), and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), manifest a collective recognition of the importance of data governance. These collaborations offer guidance and promote policy enactments, shaping data protection laws and enhancing responsible data practices across member states.
Amidst the evolving data governance landscape, capacity building emerges as a critical aspect, spotlighting the need for nurturing skills in data management, analysis, and ethics. Challenges within educational infrastructure and workforce training gaps present barriers in fostering a skilled workforce capable of effective data governance practices.
Initiatives on data governance take on several forms notably through government endeavours such as the implementation of pivotal systems like the Health Management Information System, Integrated Revenue Administration System and Labour Market Information System among others. Furthermore, Civil Society Initiatives, including efforts from various organisations advocating for data privacy and open data, and initiatives in academia, such as Education Management Information Systems, significantly contribute to advancing ethical data practices and transparent data access." (Executive summary)
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