Nino Letteriello is a data and project management leader, DAMA Award winner, WEF author, UN advisor, MIT lecturer & FIT Academy founder.
This September will mark two years since the Data Governance Act officially became applicable across the European Union. This regulation, part of the broader European data strategy, focuses primarily on data sharing between public and private entities and the overall development of a data-driven economy.
Although less known than its high-profile counterparts—the Data Act and especially the Artificial Intelligence Act—the Data Governance Act introduces a particularly compelling concept: data altruism.
Data altruism refers to the voluntary sharing of data—by individuals or companies—without expecting any reward for purposes of general interest. Such data has immense potential to advance research and drive innovation in areas like healthcare, environmental sustainability and mobility.
This article isn’t intended to debate the effectiveness of the EU’s approach. Some industry experts argue that the bureaucratic framework established by the Act risks dampening enthusiasm around the concept of data altruism itself.
And today, the register of recognized data altruism organizations is desolately empty, with only one brave Spanish association involved.
My starting point is a simple but profound question: Why, despite regulations and the importance of the issue, does the process still seem to be stalled?
Increasingly, frameworks like the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ESG standards and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) are blurring the lines between profit-making and a company’s social and environmental roles.
Of course, businesses must generate profit (often by leveraging data), but they can also use that same data, properly governed, to do good.
According to an FAQ published on the European Commission’s website in the context of the Data Act, several serious barriers still hinder data sharing from the private to the public sector. These include technical unpreparedness of public bodies, lack of interest, concerns about losing competitive advantages and issues related to privacy and data security.
The result is that we are missing a vital opportunity. Data is not only essential for business success—it’s increasingly vital for the well-being of the communities we serve and the planet we live on.
The examples of how private data can be used to improve human, social and environmental conditions are countless. For instance, a study from June 2024 used mobile phone data to estimate the percentage of drivers holding their phones while driving, highlighting the severe risk of accidents.
Another interesting example is the research conducted in Norway, which involved the analysis of debit card transactions to promptly monitor household consumption. In this case, the fully anonymized data proved extremely useful in anticipating potential social challenges and in supporting the planning of targeted economic policies.
Moreover, the potential of social media data analysis to anticipate epidemic outbreaks in various parts of the world is also well known.
One of the most significant global initiatives is Data.org, a platform launched by Mastercard and the Rockefeller Foundation. Unlike many volunteer-led projects, Data.org has longevity thanks to solid backing from key partners like Microsoft. In the “Stories of Impact” section of the website, we find numerous examples of data improving lives, especially in underserved regions of the world. Yet rarely do these stories involve private companies that have chosen to donate their data.
The absence of structured research into corporate resistance to data donation suggests that the topic remains niche—mostly embraced by tech giants with strong data capabilities and CSR programs, like Meta for Good and Google AI for Good—but still virtually unknown to most companies.
Before we talk about resistance to data donation, perhaps we should explore the level of awareness companies have about the impact such donations could have.
And so, in trying to answer the question I posed at the beginning of this article, perhaps the most appropriate response is yet another question: Do companies even realize that the data they collect, generate and manage could be a vital resource for building a better world?
And if they were more aware of the different ways they could do good with data—would they be more inclined to act?
Despite the existence of the Data Governance Act and the Data Act, these questions remain largely unanswered. But the hope is that, as data becomes more democratized within organizations and as social responsibility and sustainability take center stage, “Data for Good” will become a standard theme in corporate agendas.
After all, private companies are the most valuable and essential data providers and partners for this kind of transformation—and it is often we, the people, who provide them with the very data that could help change our world.
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