This is the era of data revolution. Data is being traded as a commodity and has even been dubbed "the new oil". Almost 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are created daily, and that number is only going up. With this rapid proliferation of data, instances of data misuse are rising. Instant information sharing has both saved and endangered lives. These polar opposite outcomes have sparked debate on data management and governance, with many seeing regulation as a threat to business. For example, Facebook's recent data breach, if found to violate the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), could cost them 4% of their global revenue (or $1.63 billion) in fines. This resonated as a warning shot to enterprises across the globe. As concerns grow, it will serve enterprises well to remember how valuable consumer trust is to them. That is precisely why the threat of punitive action could, in fact, be enterprises' biggest ally in this data revolution.

1. 1
RIGHT PRACTICES IN DATA MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNANCE
VARUN KESAVAN, RESEARCH SCHOLAR, E – MAIL ID – varunkesavan@yahoo.com
This is the era of data revolution. Data is being traded as a commodity and has
even been dubbed "the new oil". Almost 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are created
daily, and that number is only going up. With this rapid proliferation of data,
instances of data misuse are rising. Instant information sharing has both saved
and endangered lives. These polar opposite outcomes have sparked debate on
data management and governance, with many seeing regulation as a threat to
business.
For example, Facebook's recent data breach, if found to violate the EU General
Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), could cost them 4% of their global revenue
(or $1.63 billion) in fines. This resonated as a warning shot to enterprises across
the globe. As concerns grow, it will serve enterprises well to remember how
valuable consumer trust is to them. That is precisely why the threat of punitive
action could, in fact, be enterprises' biggest ally in this data revolution.
Why should businesses handle their users' data ethically? The answer is simple:
it helps them earn their customers' trust. Every organization is, at its core, in the
people business.

2. 2
The trust they establish determines their success. That trust is notoriously easy
to lose; a single instance of unethical behavior by a company could jeopardise its
future. Companies have expended enormous amounts of money and effort to fix
small negligences in ethical data handling.
To preserve consumer trust, companies will need to go beyond data security and
privacy to ensure that there is ethical handling of data within and beyond the
organisation. Like climate change, data misuse is becoming a global problem
that demands a far-reaching action. Clearly defined and communicated principles
and practices can drive honest and appropriate behaviors. That's where Data
Governance comes in.
Before enterprises can initiate Data Governance, they must identify the
regulations and frameworks relevant to their businesses. Data Governance
programs could benefit from ethics frameworks from the government and/or the
wider public sector. The UK's Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, for
example, formulated one in service of its National Data Strategy.

3. 3
It outlines principles on how data should be used in the public sector,
emphasising the importance of collective standards and ethical frameworks.
Such frameworks serve as guidelines on understanding the effects of technology,
data workflows and data sharing, as well as their ethical and real-world
consequences.
A potential blind spot in these efforts is the team, which can be an organisation's
weakest link. This is usually because they don't understand the risks. Regular
security training and awareness programs can help enterprises secure the
perimeter, so to speak.
Data Governance and training help organisations prevent data misuse. In the
future, we might even see data scientists take something similar to the
physician's Hippocratic Oath as a declaration of integrity. However, what
consumers are placing their trust in now is regulation. We are witnessing a surge
of rules and regulations, for example, the GDPR and the California Consumer
Privacy Act.
Designed to give users more control over their data privacy, they place hefty
fines on enterprises that violate it. India, too, is making moves in that direction,
and will soon introduce a law for comprehensive data protection.

4. 4
This law will regulate the processing of individuals' personal data by the
government and private entities incorporated in India and abroad. In general,
data privacy laws have two things in common: Data Protection and Breach
Notification. Violating either leads to punitive action. The enterprise is compelled,
in this way, to bring transparency to the journey of consumer data.
The importance of ethics in Data Management and Governance is being
recognised in various spaces world over. Bloomberg's Data for Good Exchange
(D4GX) announced they would partner with other companies to bring the data
science community together and explore this very topic. Universities are pushing
courses on ethics because powerful tools like machine learning could alter
human society and students need to understand the potential consequences.
An ethics-driven approach to Data Governance encourages sound knowledge of
data, protection laws, and the appropriate use of the technology that generates,
analyses and propagates data. How we collect, protect, and use personal data is
going to matter increasingly to consumers.
While punitive action is often the focus of discussions around such legislation
(i.e., comply or suffer the consequences), enterprises should not lose sight of
what they stand to gain from it.

5. 5
Instead of viewing regulation as restrictive, it can be seen a means to secure
consumer trust. Ultimately, a delicate balance of controls, rights, accountabilities,
and processes will create confidence in data.