DAAN STEENKAMP and PIETMAN ROOS: Time for the data policy space to mature
There are still legal vacuums, which over time could give rise to unfair practices
Data is a distinct resource that has its own ethical considerations for exploration, processing and distribution. The terrain is mostly “ethics”, as opposed to law, since the data landscape is in many ways still unregulated and akin to the Wild West. While privacy rights have been entrenched amid the rush to tap into this “new oil” and exploit it as a resource, there are still large legal vacuums, which over time could give rise to unfair practices. In all the excitement of the data economy, we should be asking what type of industry we are creating.
Crude oil is something that requires immense resources to transform the raw product into a useful end product, just like data. The regulatory framework for oil exploration has developed to include drilling rights, environmental permits and processing and distribution safety checks. These are all sensible safeguards to protect the environment, consumers and smaller operators against the domination of large companies. If “data is t...
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