ETHICAL DATA GOVERNANCE IN THE DIGITAL AGE: PRIVACY, HUMAN DIGNITY AND THE LIMITS OF ALGORITHMIC MEDIATION

Abstract

This article analyzes the ethical challenges of data governance in the digital age, with emphasis on privacy, personal data protection, and human dignity in the context of large-scale information collection, intensive data circulation, and algorithmic mediation of social relations. Its objective is to examine how the expansion of digital technologies compromises the protection of these values and which ethical and normative parameters may contribute to their preservation. Methodologically, the study adopts a qualitative bibliographic and documentary approach based on the analysis of theoretical works, scientific articles, and national and international normative references directly related to the topic. The analysis indicates that the expansion of digital services does not, by itself, ensure adequate information governance, since informational asymmetries, limited transparency in automated processing, and restrictions on users’ control over their own data remain significant. It is concluded that ethical data governance depends on the articulation of transparency, accountability, informational risk management, and concrete protection mechanisms capable of improving data use practices and reducing adverse effects associated with algorithmic mediation.