RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS IN DATA GOVERNANCE: THE CARE PRINCIPLES

UMA REVISÃO SISTEMÁTICA DOS PRINCÍPIOS CARE

Abstract

The CARE Principles (Collective Benefit, Authority to Control, Responsibility, and Ethics) have emerged as a response to historical inequalities in the production, circulation, and use of data, particularly those concerning Indigenous peoples and other socially vulnerable groups. This study aims to identify the main approaches and research topics addressed in the literature on the CARE Principles, examining both their original application in Indigenous data governance and their expansion to other communities. The study adopted a systematic literature review based on the BRAPCI and Web of Science databases, using the search terms “CARE principles” and their Portuguese equivalent, combined with thematic filters. The findings show that Brazilian publications are primarily focused on Indigenous data sovereignty and governance, whereas the international literature presents greater thematic and geographic diversity, covering libraries, archives, digital humanities, artificial intelligence, minority languages, humanitarian contexts, and other vulnerable populations. The review also identified initiatives that adapt the CARE framework to deaf communities, collaborative memory projects, and wartime and displacement settings. The study concludes that the CARE Principles provide an important framework for promoting information justice, self-determination, social participation, and ethical data governance, while demonstrating their broader applicability to diverse contexts characterized by power asymmetries.