Advancing data agency: A conceptual framework to support data sovereignty

Abstract

Abstract The term data sovereignty—the principle that data is subject to the laws and governance of the country where it is collected or stored—faces implementation challenges. The legal deadlock over how to regulate transatlantic (E.U.–U.S.) data transfers reveal the difficulties of asserting “sovereignty” over data, a resource that flows transnationally through digital technologies. Among global regulatory efforts, the European Union’s struggle to ensure the supremacy of its data protection and privacy laws represents an interesting case from which to derive new theoretical and conceptual insights. This paper advances data agency—as agency mediated by data, not over it. The intention is to advance a term that moves beyond the limits of data sovereignty to explain how governance over data-driven systems is distributed and contested. The manuscript suggests pragmatic pathways for more effective governance as mere “control” over data is not enough to achieve meaningful insights derived from data technologies.