Data Governance : Value Orders and Jurisdictional Conflicts

Abstract

This book investigates the governance of digital data as a site of fundamental normative and political ordering processes that unfold in light of ever-increasing inter- and transnational linkages. Data governance is characterized by frequent jurisdictional overlap: regulatory efforts in one jurisdiction are likely to affect the conduct of others. How do different actors resolve overlapping claims? Existing literature has identified the impact of institutional processes and power struggles but has underestimated—and undertheorized—prevailing normative differences. This book argues that actors in the field are united by the perception of common stakes but clash about their conflicting visions of what data governance should achieve or avoid and, in fact, what data actually are. Theoretically, it combines Bourdieusian field theory with the concept of value orders drawing on Boltanski and Thévenot. Based on the analysis of five key conflicts in data governance between the EU, the US, and private companies, the book proposes four distinct normative visions of data governance. These visions articulate calls for action depending on their conceptualizations of data as a governable object and the moral justifications for their governance. First, the idea of liberal protection links human rights with the promotion of sovereignty. Second, proponents of a security partnership promote global security cooperation. Third, a vision of the digital economy endorses progress and innovation. Fourth, a vision of global cooperation emphasizes globally interoperable standards of data governance. In sum, this book offers a novel account of how actors negotiate normative differences in a central policy field.