Abstract

Trust by data users in the statistics produced by National Statistical Offices (NSOs) is essential to fulfill their mandate. Equally as important is trust by the population, businesses, or other organizations that their data will be acquired and used responsibly, throughout their lifecycle. When NSOs were almost exclusively collecting data using surveys, respondents knew what information they were giving and for what purpose. With the advent of new technologies and the fast-increasing demand for more timely and more granular data, NSOs had to evolve towards the use of alternative data sources. These alternative data sources provide NSOs with great opportunities, but they also present different ethical challenges that go beyond privacy protection and data security.
This talk will describe data ethics practices at Statistics Canada, their guiding principles and how they are applied.