Paper vs. practice: How legal and ethical frameworks influence public sector data professionals in the Netherlands

Recent years have seen a massive growth in ethical and legal frameworks to govern data science practices. Yet one of the core questions associated with ethical and legal frameworks is the extent to which they are implemented in practice. A particularly interesting case in this context comes to public officials, for whom higher standards typically exist. We are thus trying to understand how ethical and legal frameworks influence the everyday practices on data and algorithms of public sector data professionals. The following paper looks at two cases: public sector data professionals (1) at municipalities in the Netherlands and (2) at the Netherlands Police. We compare these two cases based on an analytical research framework we develop in this article to help understanding of everyday professional practices. We conclude that there is a wide gap between legal and ethical governance rules and the everyday practices.

Automated summary

In recent years, there has been a significant growth in ethical and legal frameworks for data science practices. However, the implementation of these frameworks in practice remains a core question. Public officials, who are typically held to higher standards, present an interesting case in this context. This paper aims to investigate how ethical and legal frameworks influence the everyday practices of data professionals in the public sector. By studying two cases - municipal data professionals in the Netherlands and the Netherlands Police - using an analytical research framework, the study reveals a substantial gap between legal and ethical governance rules and everyday practices.