Data Autonomy: Recalibrating Strategic Autonomy and Digital Sovereignty

Abstract

The datafication of society comes with a recalibration of power structures. European states can no longer depend on territorial control to govern (cyber)space, powerful corporations own essential cloud infrastructure, state actors denying the importance of democracy and human rights have crucial roles in supply chains, and users are left without choice when using digital services. This article proposes data autonomy as a value-based framework, in response to this ongoing powershift undermining the European Union’s strategic autonomy. In contrast to debates around digital sovereignty and international data flows in data protection law, data autonomy aspires to establish a framework that puts human dignity at its core. Essentially, data autonomy is based on informational self-determination, yet expands it in three dimensions: First, informational selfdetermination remains limited to the citizen-state relationship. The scope of data autonomy expands to private actors, in cases where those are particularly powerful. Secondly, data autonomy expands beyond individual rights and duties, including organizational autonomy as an enabler for individual autonomy. Thirdly, data autonomy addresses harmful inferences resulting from the use of systems based on machine learning or artificial intelligence. Therefore, it is not limited to risks stemming from statically labelled data (e.g., data stored in databases). Strategic Autonomy, Human Dignity, Digital Sovereignty, Governance, Datafication, Data Ownership, Data Governance, Data Protection, Privacy, Informational Self-Determination