Concern 882 · Working draft · editorial review in progress
Data-agency rights
Data agency means having understandable, usable choices and applicable rights over how information about you is collected and used in AI.
Understanding the concern
Someone may post a photo for friends without expecting it to become training material for another purpose. Other data may be inferred rather than directly provided. The concern is whether people can understand these uses, exercise relevant rights and reach an accountable organization. Agency is broader than clicking an unread consent box.
The European Data Protection Board explains that AI training with personal data requires case-specific legal analysis, including whether a model is truly anonymous. Public availability does not settle every question. Think of lending a personal letter for one purpose and later learning it has been used elsewhere. Legal rights are not identical to ownership of all information, and technical removal may involve real limits.
An example
A person asks how their publicly posted information entered a training process and what valid options they have to object or seek correction.
Illustrative unless identified as a documented case.
Words in plain English
- AI
- Software that learns patterns from examples or uses rules to perform tasks such as recognizing images or generating text. It can make mistakes and does not understand every situation as a person would.
- Model
- The learned part of an AI system. It uses patterns found during training to produce an answer or prediction.
- Training
- The process of using examples to shape how an AI model behaves. Learning patterns from material does not establish that the material is true or fair.
- Inference
- Drawing a conclusion from clues. In AI engineering it can also mean running a trained model to produce an output.
Evidence and its limits
The EDPB opinion concerns EU data protection. It does not establish consent as the only possible legal basis or promise that every request can erase all influence from a trained model.
European Data Protection Board · Regulatory opinion summary
EDPB opinion on AI models: GDPR principles support responsible AI ↗ (opens in a new tab)December 2024 opinion requires case-specific analysis of anonymity, legitimate interests and consequences of unlawful processing. Public availability does not settle lawful use.
Broader frameworks and background
These resources provide context. They do not establish every claim in this concern.
- EU AI Act — high-level summary (opens in a new tab)
regulation
- Council of Europe AI Convention (opens in a new tab)
regulation
- International humanitarian law (IHL)
framework
The body of law that governs the conduct of armed conflict and the protection of people who are not fighting, which applies to AI used in or for conflict.
A question to discuss
What can the person learn and change about this use of their information in practice?
Keep track of different views, what needs checking, and any next step in your own discussion notes.
Open discussion notes →Principles for the conversation
Before you finish · reflect together
Virtues and principles to consider
Virtues are qualities we practice in how we treat people and make choices. They are not scores for judging someone. Use these ideas to explore what a thoughtful response could look like.
Justice
Justice means fair treatment, fair procedures, and attention to who receives benefits and burdens. It asks whether people with less power can be heard and seek repair.
Look at outcomes across different groups and individual cases. Provide a usable way to challenge decisions and correct harm. Equal wording in a policy does not guarantee equal treatment in practice.
Ask together: Who benefits, who bears the cost, and who can challenge the decision?
Accountability
Accountability means being answerable for decisions and taking responsibility for repair. It requires more than saying that the software made the choice.
Name the person or team responsible, keep useful records, and give them authority to correct problems. Make the route to a complaint clear to the people affected.
Ask together: Who will answer for the outcome and help put things right?
Dignity
Dignity means recognizing each person's worth regardless of usefulness, status, or a system's score. People deserve respect and a voice in matters that affect them.
Explain important decisions, avoid humiliating treatment, and keep room for a person's story. Do not treat a prediction as a complete account of who someone is.
Ask together: Does this use treat each person as someone whose experience matters?
Editorial ratings
These are editorial judgments from the register, not measured probabilities or predictions about your situation.
About the register and scoring →More ways to explore
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