Data rights are civic rights: a participatory framework for GDPR in the US?

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[Commentary] While online rights are coming into question, it’s worth considering how those will overlap with offline rights and civic engagement. We need a conversation about data protections, empowering users with their own information, and transparency — ultimately, data rights are now civic rights.While the US still lacks such data standards, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), scheduled to take effect in May, demonstrates a path toward reliable online privacy balanced with transparency. 

There’s plenty of documentation on how the GDPR will affect the practices of consumer-oriented companies and journalism. But the social sector also needs to take note. From civil society organization to think tanks, academia, and philanthropy, these rules will have important, unexamined implications and opportunities outside of Europe. Though the issue isn’t sparking marches and mass protests, data rights should not be left to a few technical experts — or representatives with no tech background. Because data rules affect everyone in different, unequal ways, we need full, informed democratic participation of everyday people. After all, this may be one of the most fundamental choices the US will make over the next decade.

[Hollie Russon-Gilman and Elena Souris work with New America.]


Data rights are civic rights: a participatory framework for GDPR in the US?