Lecture Bounce 1ODI Fridays: Government legislation and data ethics1 06 21

Effective use of data relies on good ethical foundations. While national data institutions have the power to issue papers, guidance, and create sound tools for evaluating ethical needs and setting standards, only the Government has the power to make legislation and issue binding policy requirements. This talk explores the Government’s practice in one specific area – making legislation relevant to data and digitalisation – though a forensic review of relevant statutes and regulations made in 2020. Dr Sue Chadwick will talk us through her year of statute-stalking, surveying both the content of the legislation made and the way it was made and applied. She will evaluate those practices against some established codes of digital ethics, including the ODI Data Ethics Canvas and the Government’s own Data Ethics Framework. About the speaker Sue is a Strategic Planning Advisor at Pinsent Masons LLP with a keen – some might say obsessive – interest in data and the way it will transform the property industry and challenge many of its established foundations. As one of the ODI’s first ever research fellows she has spent the last year working with their Vice President Jeni Tennison, exploring digital ethics and their implications for planning decisions with a particular focus on human rights, equalities, discrimination, and established codes of practice. Her research is due to be published through the ODI in September.