African data trusts: new tools towards collective data governance?

ABSTRACTNew tools are being explored to provide collective and participatory means of governing data to promote the management of data in ways that benefit those from whom data is collected. This paper discusses whether data trusts are feasible structures in an African context by outlining specific considerations that should be prioritised in the development of bottom-up and collective models of data governance on the continent. Making use of international instruments, principles and established values like Ubuntu, the paper analyses the importance of collective decision-making through collective and participatory governance, women’s empowerment, and capacity-building, and how the alignment of data trusts to African contexts could help balance historical power differentials, and emphasise heterogeneity as the starting point of all discussions in the digital age.KEYWORDS: Datadata trustsdata governanceAfricadata justicecollective decision-makingfundamental rights Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1 Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI), ‘Guided by Privacy Laws, Data Trusts can Regulate Access to Data Subject to Consent Permissions (e.g., Purpose and Sharing Limitations) Attached to the Data.’ (2022) <https://gpai.ai/projects/data-governance/data-trusts/> accessed 23 July 2022.2 J Hardinges, ‘What is a data trust?’ (2018) <https://theodi.org/article/what-is-a-data-trust/> accessed 17 June 2022.3 A Ruhaak, ‘Data Trusts: Why, What and How?’ (2019) <https://medium.com/@anoukruhaak/data-trusts-why-what-and-how-a8b53b53d34> accessed 17 June 2022.4 Research ICT Africa (RIA), ‘From Data Protection to Data Justice’ (2022) <https://researchictafrica.net/publication/from-data-protection-to-data-justice-redressing-the-uneven-distribution-of-opportunities-and-harms-in-ai/> accessed 20 June 2022.5 Organisation for African Unity (OAU), ‘African Charter on Human and People’s Rights’, (OAU Addis Ababa 1982) CAB/LEG/67/3 rev. 5, 21 I.L.M. 58 <https://www.achpr.org/legalinstruments/detail?id=49> accessed 10 July 2022.6 Global Indigenous Data Alliance, ‘CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance’ (2018) <https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d3799de845604000199cd24/t/5da9f4479ecab221ce848fb2/1571419335217/CARE±Principles_One±Pagers±FINAL_Oct_17_2019.pdf> accessed 20 June 2022.7 SM Macdonald, ‘Reclaiming Data Trusts’ (2019) <https://www.cigionline.org/articles/reclaiming-data-trusts/> accessed 10 July 2022.8 Ibid.9 A Artyushina, ‘The Future of Data Trusts and the Global Race to Dominate AI’ (2021) <https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/blog/data-trusts1/#:~:text=What%20is%20a%20data%20trust,of%20access%20to%20the%20data.> accessed 20 June 2022.10 J Keller, ‘What are ‘Bottom-up’ Data Institutions and How Do They Empower People?’ (2021) <https://theodi.org/article/what-are-bottom-up-data-institutions-and-how-do-they-empower-people#collective-decision-making> accessed 20 June 2022; S Delacroix and ND Lawrence, ‘Bottom-up Data Trusts: Disturbing the ‘One Size Fits All’ Approach to Data Governance’ (2019) 9 IDPL 236.11 Artyushina (n 9).12 B Townsend, ‘The Lawful Sharing of Health Research Data in South Africa and Beyond’ (2022) 31 ICTL 17.13 Keller (n 10).14 T Davies ‘Notes on Data Trusts’ (2022) <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lNNhZHu-xysunPSMSWb2G28XcYhosizruia5_dIrmcQ/edit?pli=1#heading=h.jgmduqp1336> accessed 10 July 2022; BPE Solicitors, Pinsent Masons and C Reed, ‘Data Trusts: Legal and Governance Considerations’ (2019) <https://theodi.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/General-legal-report-on-data-trust.pdf> accessed 10 July 2022.15 C Bernier, ‘Governance for Innovation and Privacy: The Promise of Data Trusts and Regulatory Sandboxes’ (2021) <https://www.cigionline.org/articles/governance-innovation-and-privacy-promise-data-trusts-and-regulatory-sandboxes/> accessed 10 July 2022.16 Aapti Institute, Open Data Institute & GPAI, ‘Enabling Data Sharing for Social Benefit through Data Trusts’ (2021) <https://gpai.ai/projects/data-governance/data-trusts/enabling-data-sharing-for-social-benefit-data-trusts-interim-report.pdf> accessed 12 July 2022.17 Ibid.18 Ibid.19 Protection of Personal Information Act 2013.20 A Ruhaak, ‘When One Affects Many: The Case for Collective Consent’ (2020) <https://foundation.mozilla.org/de/blog/when-one-affects-many-case-collective-consent/> accessed 20 July 2022.21 Ibid; 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The Case for Connecting Digital Rights and Freedoms Globally’ (2017) 4 Big Data & Society 1–14, 1 <https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2053951717736335> accessed 23 July 2022.67 Ibid; Research ICT Africa, ‘From Data Protection to Data Justice- redressing the Uneven Distribution of Opportunities and Harms in AI’ (2022), <https://researchictafrica.net/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/From-Data-Protection-to-Data-Justice.pdf> accessed 12 June 2022.68 Keller (n 10); Water Community Action Network, ‘About Us’ (2022) <http://watercan.org.za/about-us/> accessed 15 June 2022; OpenStreetMap, ‘About OSM Community’ (n.d.) <https://welcome.openstreetmap.org/about-osm-community/history-of-osm/> accessed 15 June 2022; Wikidata, ‘Introduction’ (2022) <https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Introduction> accessed 15 June 2022; Driver’s Seat, ‘Home’ (2022) <https://driversseat.co/> accessed 15 June 2022.69 Artyushina (n 64).70 Ruhaak (n 20).71 Tennison (n 21).