Author: Catherine Cote
Publisher: Harvard Business School Online
Publication Year: 2021
Summary: The following article discusses 5 key principles for handling data that ensure ethical collection, storage, and use of data for businesses. The first principle presented by the author is that of ownership. Businesses should be aware of the fact that personal data belongs to the individual. Thus acquiring it without explicit consent is both unethical and unlawful. Signed written agreements, digital privacy policies that inquire about the company’s terms and conditions, and pop-ups are some of the examples mentioned in the article for getting user consent. The second principle has to do with transparency. Companies should make it abundantly clear how customer data is collected and used. The third principle of privacy is another important topic discussed by the author. Despite giving consent, the absolute majority of clients don’t want their personally identifiable information (PII) to be publicly available. Security methods such as dual-encryption and de-identifying a dataset can protect businesses from potential leaks. The fourth principle discussed in the article is intention. Ethical data use can only happen when the purpose behind data collection is moral. One should continually evaluate whether obtaining specific data is necessary and how the final analysis might impact the individuals behind the numbers. Finally, the author discusses how unintentional harmful outcomes can arise from biased analysis. She mentions that, despite good intentions, misspecified models can have a disparate impact on underprivileged individuals, which is something data scientists should always keep in mind.
