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What Could Go Wrong? | Failure Modes for Data Stewardship

We are optimistic about opportunities for data governance, but we recognize that data initiatives also carry serious risks. In this study, Keith Porcaro imagines theoretical scenarios, inspired by reality, where data initiatives go wrong.

This analysis is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license — Sept. 16, 2020
Mozilla Insights
Keith Porcaro

Written by Mozilla Insights and Keith Porcaro

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Table of Contents

Introduction

Part I: Inertia

Data stewardship initiatives fail from a lack of demand
Data stewardship initiatives fail to overcome collective action challenges
Data stewardship initiatives fail to win user trust
Data stewardship initiatives are financially unsustainable
Data stewardship initiatives are unable to resolve conflicts among stakeholders

Part II: Exclusion

Data stewardship initiatives may be governed inequitably
Data stewardship initiatives may further data protection inequities
Data stewardship fails to prevent algorithmic discrimination
Data stewardship models fail to prevent the weaponization of data against vulnerable groups

Part III: Entrenchment

Entrenched powers refuse to engage with data stewardship initiatives.
Data stewardship models are co-opted by technology platforms
Abuse or poor judgment by fiduciaries and trusted parties is difficult to identify and remediate
The surveillance economy cannot be normalized

This study forms part of a collaborative research series by Mozilla Insights called Data for Empowerment. The research informs the work of the Data Futures Lab.

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Introduction