The DR2I Charter

Data Regulation & Innovation Initiative is an independent international working group that wants to change the default logic of data regulation. That logic has long been defensive: protect people by restricting what can be done with their data. It was an understandable choice when the rules were developed, but due to technological and economic changes, the default logic does not serve us well today.

The new logic should focus on how to use data responsibly, so that individuals and societies genuinely benefit. We must thus protect fundamental rights while leaving room for useful innovation.

We argue for a risk-based, proportionate evolution of data regulation that protects fundamental rights in practice, not only on paper. Data protection is an important fundamental right, but it is not the only right or legitimate interest in play. Where it intersects with innovation, research or public-interest uses, those interests deserve honest balancing.

DR2I treats regulation, governance, stewardship, and use as one practical chain from legal norms to real-world outcomes. Regulation establishes the binding framework of rights, duties and safeguards. Governance translates those requirements into proportionate decisions, controls and oversight. Stewardship then assigns responsibility for data across its lifecycle (purpose, access, quality, security, retention, auditability) and embeds it in design and institutional accountability. Finally, data use is the point where benefits and harms materialise and outcomes can be measured. The test of the whole chain is whether it demonstrably protects rights in practice.

Proportionate data regulation and governance have become a strategic asset for economies. Excessively rigid and bureaucratic approaches put jurisdictions at a significant disadvantage in the world economy at a pivotal time due to rapid development of artificial intelligence. Such approaches also put countries at a disadvantage in pursuing digital sovereignty.

How the Initiative works

DR2I brings together experts from multiple jurisdictions, coming from academia, regulatory practice, industry, and civil society.

We provide a forum where regulators, researchers, and industry can talk to each other, and a repository for what those conversations produce.

Our work falls into three strands

Dialogue. Roundtables and expert forums across jurisdictions and sectors, with academia, industry, regulators and policymakers at the same table, to identify problems and develop shared principles for turning legal texts into working governance.

Policy research. White papers, policy blueprints, regulatory guidance and comparative research on protecting fundamental rights without blocking innovation.

Regulatory coherence. Advocacy for predictable interpretation and enforcement of data law across jurisdictions, so that organisations making hard regulatory calls on new technology have some legal certainty.

Core principles

1. Stewardship over restriction. Responsible governance and use of data, not an avoidance-first reading of the law.
2. Human-centred governance. Frameworks that respect individual rights and leave room for research and public-interest uses of data.
3. Global interoperability. Common principles for trusted, lawful cross-border data flows.
4. Evidence-based policymaking. Regulation grounded in honest assessment of technological and economic reality.
5. Enabling responsible data processing. Personal data, when governed well, can expand individual autonomy, scientific progress and public welfare.

FAQs

How does DR2I work to strengthen effective data protection?

DR2I builds on the normative foundations of data protection law. What it opposes is formalism, enforcement that rewards documentation while real risks go unmanaged. It favours balanced interpretation and coherent enforcement, with compliance effort directed at real protection and responsible use.

How does DR2I incorporate industry experience while staying independent?

Industry participants bring operational experience that regulators and academics cannot supply, so DR2I includes them in its cross-sector dialogue. No single company or sector controls, directs or funds the Initiative. Companies, trade bodies or institutions may fund individual events to make convening possible. Such funding is disclosed and carries no editorial control, no influence over the agenda or speakers, and no rights over research outputs or recommendations.

How is DR2I's independence ensured?

By a diversified institutional base, academic anchoring, geographic balance and transparent structures. Research and policy recommendations follow the norms of academic integrity, including methodological rigour and disclosure of conflicts of interest.

Why is global interoperability central to DR2I?

Fragmented regulation raises compliance costs, creates legal uncertainty and holds back cross-border research and innovation. DR2I promotes dialogue and comparative analysis so that jurisdictions can interpret data law more coherently while respecting constitutional and cultural differences.

Who should engage with DR2I?

Scholars, policymakers, regulators, industry leaders and civil society organisations committed to data regulation and governance that is compatible with innovation.

What happens next?

In 2026 and 2027 DR2I will finalise its charter and principles, expand its international network, and publish white papers, model interpretative guidance, policy blueprints and comparative mappings of data regulation and innovation.

Who can join?

Partners and individuals who want to shape the next phase of global data regulation, governance and stewardship. Please see our About page for contact information if you would like to express interest.