Digital responsibility redefined in Denmark

Denmark is venturing into new unexplored digital territory with eight political initiatives on data ethics that receive both industry and consumer support. One initiative requires large companies to include a statement about the company’s data ethics policy in the annual report. Another is the establishment of a data ethics label to increase transparency about a company’s data ethical standards. This paper explores these initiatives in depth and discusses the consequences. Danish companies might be able to establish higher levels of trust with customers, but with a primarily negative discourse surrounding the topic of data ethics and digital responsibility, this paper also discusses the possibility that high standards on digital responsibility may compromise the potential for further value creation and innovation through more data usage, safely and responsibly. Drawing on schools of philosophy as well as technological development, this paper proposes a framework for evaluating data ethics and privacy, not only in terms of things that happen that we do not like, but also regarding things that are not happening yet, but which ought to be, perhaps. Furthermore, the paper proposes the need for industry specific data ethical themes, and proposes five generic themes that should be used as a starting point for assessing data ethics and digital responsibility across industries.