How the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation empowers digital civic engagement

[Commentary] The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) represents an important step forward for envisioning a civic life where citizens are empowered not only as data producers but also data owners. Any conversation of leveraging data, technology, or innovation to enhance civic life or governance should seriously consider how such a framework could more deeply empower citizens in the United States. Several core components of the GDPR are relevant for broader governance and civic conversations around the world. First, having a clear sense of who collects your information and what information they collect. Second, having a right to be forgotten. Third, enhancing data protection responsibilities. Ultimately, the conversation surrounding the GDPR needs to seriously consider the value that citizens place in their data.