Mission Responsible #13

Welcome to the March issue of Mission Responsible! This month, we’re taking a look at 8 years of the RD community, the cyber attack on the ICRC, and the dialogue around Crisis Text Line’s use of data.

Everything that comes next is drawn from links shared on the Responsible Data mailing list, community happenings, and whatever we see happening on the #ResponsibleData hashtag on Twitter.

Responsible Data Anniversary 

– looking back at the last 8 years of Responsible Data work

As you know, we published a collection of 12 articles to celebrate 8 years of the RD community. Written by various community members, the articles reflect the complexity of Responsible Data as a topic. We have been sharing it with you on the listserv and on Twitter, and all the articles are available here. We welcome folks to re-publish and share the articles as is useful – do get in touch if you have other ideas.

Cyberattack on ICRC and what followed

– dealing with a data breach

At the end of January, we learnt of a sophisticated cyber-attack on the International Committee of Red Cross’ servers. The attack compromised personal data and confidential information on more than 515,000 highly vulnerable people. It has been heartening to follow how ICRC, an organisation proficient in embracing responsible data policies, dealt with this crisis. Since the outbreak happened, ICRC has been publishing regular, in-depth updates on what exactly happened and critically reflecting on what is the best way forward. They have also been reaching out to affected communities, digitally and in person, to explain what happened.

The Crisis Text Line data misuse

– how can we do better?

Another issue that got us thinking about Responsible Data these past few weeks was the news related to Crisis Text Line: an article published by Politico described how the US-based tech non-profit shared its users’ sensitive data with its for-profit spin-off. The data-sharing relationship between two entities has now been cut off, but, nevertheless, it ignited conversations about ethics and transparency in the sector, as well as the limits of the issue of digital consent and whether it is possible to obtain it from anyone. Here comes a couple of relevant links on the matter:

• danah boyd, a prominent researcher into tech & ethics and CTL’s Board Chair shares her side of the story
• Tim Reierson (a former CTL volunteer) describes his perspective
• CTL's follow up post
• Lucy Bernholz’s Twitter thread on the structural issues with nonprofits’ funding

You can read the RD community’s exchange on the matter here and if you have any thoughts or questions you’d like to contribute, you are more than welcome to.

Community updates

• If you, your team, community, or stakeholders are French-speaking, check out this resource on how organisations can start their Responsible Data journeys just translated to French. (It’s also available in English).
• Mozilla wants to create a legal playbook for builders on how to implement alternative approaches to data governance. They are now looking for local legal researchers in Germany, India, Kenya, and the US, who can help them out. You can apply by March 15th.
• IT for Change published a paper on semi-commons approach to data resource governance. 
• In the light of recent events in Ukraine, we have been resurfacing some of the resources on responsible data and humanitarian work. We have also listed them all on Twitter – if you think of anything that is missing, feel free to add it to the thread!
  • ICRC Handbook on Data Protection in Humanitarian Action
  • DSEG’s framework of ethical use of data science in the humanitarian sector
  • Privacy International, The Humanitarian Metadata Problem - Doing No Harm in the Digital Era
  • UNOCHA Center for Humanitarian Data, Data Responsibility Guidelines

That is it for today. Get in touch with us at  hello@responsibledata.io if there is anything you’d like to see featured in this newsletter in the future. And if you’re dealing with responsible data challenges in your organisation, we’d be happy to offer support. 

Have a great month,

The Engine Room.
 

This month’s issue of Mission Responsible was crafted by Alicja, Responsible Data Community Manager.