DAMA-DMBOK2 organizes Data Handling Ethics around three fundamental considerations: impact on people, potential for misuse, and the economic value of data. The text explains that data frequently represents individuals and is used in decisions that materially affect them; consequently, organizations have an ethical responsibility to ensure that data is reliable and appropriately managed. It also recognizes that data can be intentionally or unintentionally misused and that its economic value creates questions concerning ownership, access, rights, and permitted use.

These concepts directly intersect with Data Quality. Incorrect or misleading data may result in decisions that adversely affect customers, employees, patients, citizens, or other stakeholders. For that reason, accuracy, completeness, transparency, provenance, and appropriate interpretation are not merely technical characteristics—they can have ethical consequences.

Governance operationalizes these ethical principles through policies, decision rights, stewardship responsibilities, access rules, monitoring, and escalation procedures. Metadata Management supports transparency by documenting meaning, provenance, classification, and permitted use. Master Data Management also has an ethical dimension because consolidated person or customer records may create significant consequences when matching or identity-resolution errors occur.

Privacy and security are important controls, but they do not constitute DAMA's complete set of core ethical concepts.

Reference Topics: DAMA-DMBOK2 Chapter 2 — Data Handling Ethics; Impact on People; Potential for Misuse; Economic Value of Data; Chapter 13 — Accuracy, Reliability and Governance.

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