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SXSW 2026 Highlights the Need for Clean Data Practices and an Electronic Bill of Rights
Read the new article from Innovators at The Intersection
As many of you know, I serve on the board of the Clean Data Alliance, which has adopted the Electronic Bill of Rights (EBOR) framework to support ethical data collection practices.
The goal is simple but profound: create a digital ecosystem free from surveillance-driven data mining, addictive AI-infused apps, manipulative social media systems, and contracts of adhesion that force participation. Instead, EBOR and CDA advocate for a model that restores control and agency over your privacy, security, safety, data and financial sovereignty, biological agency (biometric and genetic information), civil liberties, and human rights.
At SXSW 2026, many conversations across panels on AI, digital rights, and platform governance reinforced why this shift is urgently needed.
A new article in Innovators at The Intersection highlights the launch of the Clean Data Alliance and explains the concept behind Clean Data—a new economic and ethical model for the digital age.
Key Takeaways from the Article
1. The Current Data Economy Is Broken
The article notes that fragmented, inaccurate, and exploited data creates enormous economic loss—estimated at $3.1 trillion annually in U.S. productivity. At the same time, nearly half of digital advertising spending is tied to fraud or unreliable data, undermining trust across the ecosystem.
2. Clean Data vs. Dirty Data
The Clean Data model flips the surveillance paradigm. Clean Data is:
By contrast, today’s dominant “dirty data” model relies on coercive collection, surveillance technologies, and personally identifiable information harvested without meaningful consent.
3. Restoring Human Agency in the Digital Economy
The central concept behind CDA is Data Agency—the principle that people should control their own data and decide when, how, and if it is shared. This approach enables a collaborative digital economy where individuals and institutions both benefit from trusted, permission-based data.
4. A New Ethical Framework for AI and Digital Systems
The Alliance also emphasizes the importance of reframing how we think about AI. Many so-called “AI systems” do not truly think—they infer patterns from data. Without reform to the underlying data economy, these systems risk amplifying the same surveillance-driven problems already affecting society.
Why This Matters
The launch of the Clean Data Alliance aligns closely with the Electronic Bill of Rights framework, which proposes a path forward for ethical AI, apps, and digital systems that respect human rights and civil liberties.
As discussions at SXSW made clear, the future of technology must move beyond surveillance capitalism toward clean data, user agency, and trusted digital systems.
Read the Full Article
I encourage everyone interested in the future of ethical technology, AI governance, and digital rights to read the full piece in Innovators at The Intersection and support their publication.
Subscribe to Innovators at The Intersection here: 571ea86bb08633cc521b83265d4b8125370ce82b.4.pdf
Read the article and subscribe here:
https://cdn.coverstand.com/73800/861786/571ea86bb08633cc521b83265d4b8125370ce82b.4.pdf
