CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance

Author: N/A

Publisher: The Global Indigenous Data Alliance

Publication Year: 2022

Summary: The following guidelines set out the minimum requirements for Indigenous-designed data approaches and standards, which can be generalized to all approaches and standards to data ethics surrounding marginalized communities. They show the current inadequacy of consent and data privacy protections, and highlight community-controlled data infrastructure. These principles stand on top of the CARE principles (described below). CARE stands for (with examples): 1). Collective benefit: Data ecosystems shall be designed and function in ways that enable Indigenous Peoples to derive benefit from the data; 2). Authority to control: Indigenous Peoples’ rights and interests in Indigenous data must be recognized and their authority to control such data respected; 3). Responsibility: There is the responsibility to be accountable on how data is being used. Accountability requires meaningful and openly available evidence of these efforts and the benefits accruing to Indigenous Peoples; and 4). Ethics: Indigenous Peoples’ rights and wellbeing should be the primary concern at all stages of the data life cycle and across the data ecosystem. The aim is to give voice and agency to people that may be affected by its use, and mitigate risks that can cause harm, before releasing the data.