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. 2018 Oct 15;376(2133):20180081.
doi: 10.1098/rsta.2018.0081.

Soft ethics, the governance of the digital and the General Data Protection Regulation

Luciano Floridi  1   2
Affiliations

Soft ethics, the governance of the digital and the General Data Protection Regulation

Luciano Floridi. Philos Trans A Math Phys Eng Sci. .

Abstract

The article discusses the governance of the digital as the new challenge posed by technological innovation. It then introduces a new distinction between soft ethics, which applies after legal compliance with legislation, such as the General Data Protection Regulation in the European Union, and hard ethics, which precedes and contributes to shape legislation. It concludes by developing an analysis of the role of digital ethics with respect to digital regulation and digital governance.This article is part of the theme issue 'Governing artificial intelligence: ethical, legal, and technical opportunities and challenges'.

Keywords: General Data Protection Regulation; data governance; digital ethics; soft ethics.

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Conflict of interest statement

I declare I have no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
The relationship between digital ethics (E), digital regulations (R) and digital governance (G).
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
The space of soft ethics. (Online version in colour.)
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Soft and hard ethics and their relation to regulation. Note that the diagram is simplified by omitting references to all the other elements that contribute to the various frameworks.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Ethical impact analysis (EIA): the foresight analysis cycle.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Digital ethics impact assessment. (Online version in colour.)
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
A difficult equation to balance.
Figure 7.
Figure 7.
Example of a normative cascade, with business as agent and people as customers. Business could be replaced by government and people by citizens. (Online version in colour.)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. Nietzsche FW. 2008. Twilight of the idols, or, how to philosophize with a hammer. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
    1. Floridi L, Taddeo M. 2016. What is data ethics? Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 374, 20160360 (10.1098/rsta.2016.0360) - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cabinet Office, Government Digital Service. 2016. Data science ethical framework.
    1. British Academy, and Royal Society. 2017. Data management and use: governance in the 21st century—a joint report by the British Academy and the Royal Society.

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