Ethics, Accountability and Corporate Social Responsibility in the Digital Age

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Current scandals surrounding the misuse of data are mounting (e.g. the Cambridge Analytica scandal, among many), casting doubt on the current approach towards how we use data. An accountable and sustainable approach regarding the use of (personal) data as well as the integrity and security of the processing of data is required to ensure that the tension between, on the one hand, the protection of individuals’ fundamental rights – such as the protection of personal data – and, on the other hand, data usage practices for value creation, reflect the societal needs and expectations. The European Data Protection Supervisor and the European Commission are increasingly and consistently stimulating an ethical approach to privacy and personal data protection. The course aims to translate such recommendations into practical applications. It covers questions of legal accountability, social responsibility and related ethical compliance that go beyond the strict privacy and data protection
issues. More precisely, increased processing of vast amounts of personal data, also in the context of business intelligence, imposes on companies and on organisation in general additional social and ethical responsibility, as data processing should not lead to abuses or manipulation of individuals/data subjects.