Data altruism: EU solution and path of localization in China

Data altruism transcends the profit-seeking, monopolistic and competitive nature of the market mechanism. It is driven by innovation and encourages data subjects and holders to share information guided by the public interest. As a new type of data application and service model, it aims to achieve a virtuous cycle of the data ecosystem while optimize the utilization of data resources. Tracing back to the source, the theoretical foundation of data altruism from the ethical theory of altruism, and the concept of its budding was supported by the data for good. Analysis shows that the specific scheme of the EU data altruism system includes the certification of data altruistic organizations, the supervision of data altruistic organizations, and the data protection standards of data altruism. Notably, its typical practices in the fields of science and health have reduced the trust cost of data sharing, thereby accelerating the digital transformation of social governance and technological innovation in the EU. Compared with the EU, China has unique advantages such as massive data scale, diverse application scenarios, and sufficient social environment support. National data management department should focus on the theoretical resources, rule system, transformation application and discourse system of the data altruism system to achieve paradigm-shifting reforms in data governance.