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Apple is a privacy leader. Yet, with its new fintech product, Apple had one of its worst product launches -- including a government investigation in response. What can we learn? Perhaps checking all the boxes is not enough. Because compliance is so clear-cut, it is tempting to substitute it for ethics. For O'Reilly Media, Mike and I discuss seven types of tools leaders can use to create higher-performing companies that protect, fight for, and empower key (but often-forgotten) stakeholders: users and workers. Thank you to these leaders we cited/quoted or who inspired us: Diane, Barbara, Lee, Alison, Robert, Paul, Kelsey, Terah, Steven, M., Jeanne, Lokke, Peter, Hui, Mona, Emanuel, Jacob, Steve, D., Ciara, Seth, Sarah, Jack, David, Jim, Amber, Dave, Carsten, Mary, Bryan, Sarah, Fred, Dave M, William, Amit, Kate, Roel, Rashida, Tim, Bruce https://lnkd.in/dDSHddi #dataleadership #datastrategy #compliance #ethics
Dan wrote to me privately but thought I should respond here, with an abbreviated version due to the sensitive nature of this topic. "Trust has to be earned, is easily lost, and is difficult to regain." Our former CEO, Mark Weinberger said that in our orientation. Your article resonates with me because it speaks to our values, ethics and principles. It brings up so many questions about the major tech firms we interact with. Inspiring article, Dan.
Exactly right and your point works in security as well as privacy: if you just comply with the control system's requirements, you will not adequately consider the risk you face and what measures achieve the appropriate balance in managing––accepting, avoiding, mitigating, or hedging––that risk. I would point out that the typical definition of ethics is a rules-based system imposed by an external authority as opposed to morality, which is norms but ultimately a subjective sense of right and wrong. Is there a finer distinction that I'm missing?
An excellent piece!
Thank you for this piece, Dan. This quote sums it up for me: "As a result of these factors, we will likely see a surge in ethics-washing: well-intentioned companies that talk ethics, but don’t walk it. More will view these efforts as PR-driven ethics stunts, which don’t deeply engage with actual ethical issues. If harmful business models do not change, ethics leaders will be fighting a losing battle."
Great information Dan Wu. I particularly love the quote “Perhaps checking all the boxes is not enough. Because compliance is so clear-cut, it is tempting to substitute it for ethics.” I’ve noticed the attorneys I refer to as “box checkers” tend to have less of an ethical anchor. Somehow they feel as long as they are following protocol they are irreproachable. But protocols are not ethics. Nor are they good client service. They are merely tools to assist us in doing the right thing. Or sometimes the wrong thing. They have no inherent ethics on their own. The best example is the Nazis. They had lots of protocols and boxes to check. And they used them for great evil. Beware the company or leader who says “don’t worry, we have protocols in place.”
Dan Wu, thank you for the mention. I love the article, not least the insight that being ethical is something that results from a practice of being in dialog with one's #stakeholders, in particular the critical ones. This is true both on a personal and organizational level. We can expect ethics to be strong in communities where people affirm their values, give others the opportunity to do the same, and negotiate the difference with civility. Empowering ethical deliberation is the best thing companies can do to prevent ethical lapses big and small.
Dan, this is a really insightful article and articulates why ethics is incredibly important in data life cycle and the relationship between legal compliance and data ethics better than any other article I've read. Appreciate it's written in an accessible, clear manner. Great job!
Creator/Director, Giving Voice To Values, Formerly Richard M. Waitzer Bicentennial Professor of Ethics
3yThanks for this thoughtful piece!