“The servers designed to ‘collect environmental or human data must be either owned by, or wholly accessible to, government.’ In turn, open architecture would force transparency not just on industry but also on government.”
The data revolution will transform the way we live and work, but it may also threaten privacy, public security, openness and democracy. Tech and social media companies are collecting, using and selling our personal data for commercial, social, political and, in some cases, criminal purposes. Dealing in data — the “new oil” — has generated considerable wealth for some. Yet the economic and societal impacts of this activity are alarming. Many experts believe that Canada needs a strategy to proactively manage and regulate data and technology.
CIGI has responded by bringing together the perspectives of key federal government, business and industry leaders and academics to imagine a new national data strategy. Our essay series, launched in March 2018, explores roles for Canadian industry, policy considerations for domestic and international data governance, and more. Soon after, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada cited CIGI essays and research as part of its data strategy consultation. The Globe and Mail, National Post and other Canadian media closely followed and quoted the series.