8. What steps is the Welsh Government taking to advance data justice? OQ58996

Thank you, Sarah Murphy. We are committed to ensuring that public authorities use data transparently, safely and ethically for the benefit of all citizens in Wales, as set out in mission 6 of the 'Digital strategy for Wales'.

Thank you, Minister. The Data Justice Lab, based at Cardiff University, defines data justice as the

'relationship between datafication and social justice, highlighting the politics and impacts of data-driven processes and big data'— essentially, highlighting the potential harms and risks to citizens. We have seen this in our Equality and Social Justice Committee inquiry into domestic violence and the needs of migrant women. Elizabeth, of the Step Up Migrant Women coalition, told us that, when they encouraged a woman to report domestic abuse to the police, they reported it online, and, eight days later, an immigration enforcement letter arrived at their house. And in 2019, it was reported that a police force in England admitted to a written agreement with the Department for Work and Pensions to share any information on disabled people taking part in climate protests. We also know that, in Hackney, the local authority used a predictive analysis database to assess all 53,000 children living there. They used this database to identify which children may be at risk from neglect, and they used their characteristics, such as age, ethnicity and deprivation, to create this score, which I would, essentially, call 'citizen scoring'. And the thing about citizen scoring, and this kind of data that's collected in public sectors, is that people are completely unaware that this behavioural data is being collected on them; they are being assessed, they are being categorised and they have no way to fight back on this and get any transparency around it. Researchers have argued that data practices have become normalised in our society, before a chance for a broader public discussion on the ethics and morals of the use of our data in this way. So, Minister, do you agree with me that, as citizen scoring continues to develop in the public sector, our human rights must be reflected both in the digital world as they should be offline?

Diolch yn fawr, Sarah Murphy. I do want to acknowledge and recognise the ways in which Sarah Murphy, particularly, is taking up this issue—and I think it benefits all of us—and chairing the cross-party group, because we are all learning about this, but we have responsibilities and we have powers. All in authority have powers, and we must recognise the link between data justice and social justice in the way that you've described. Thank you for referring to the ways in which this has now come to life, in terms of the evidence in the Equality and Social Justice Committee about migrant women and the way in which data can be abused, as well as used. This is about that kind of balance. I was pleased to give evidence to that committee, but also to look at this from a citizen's perspective and how citizens can engage. And so it has to be at the heart of our equality and social justice thinking—how do we engage with our citizens.

We're very fortunate that we've actually got the Data Justice Lab here in Cardiff University, and the work that they've done. And you've, obviously, engaged; we're engaged with it on citizen scoring. It's really important. And we do have a close relationship with the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation, but we want to see how we can get public bodies to consider data ethics by publishing guidance, and also that guidance would be very relevant across all sectors, indeed, taking this forward.

Thank you, Minister.