Mastercard Launches Initiative To Foster Data Security Among Businesses

Mastercard is introducing a Data Responsibility Imperative to spark a conversation with other companies about data security, Mastercard said in a press release on Oct. 24.

Mastercard wants organizations to work together to heighten privacy and fend off cyberattacks. The initiative depends on coming up with fundamentals to direct how data is used. It is based on the premise that businesses have a responsibility when it comes to data management. 

In a Mastercard-commissioned survey, nine out of 10 people said data privacy is important to them. Just one-third of those surveyed believe companies are acting responsibly when it comes to data privacy. 

“In today’s fast-paced digital economy, we’re facing never-before-seen circumstances that test our ethics on a daily basis,” said JoAnn Stonier, chief data officer, Mastercard. “We need high data standards that allow us to face these situations head-on, knowing that our practices are sound, consistent and based on treating individuals and their data with decency. For Mastercard, this commitment starts at home, and we’re embedding these principles into how we do business — every day.”

Mastercard is proposing six data principles intended as a complement to regulatory compliance. Corporate data responsibility (CDR) could become “the corporate social responsibility of the 21st century,” the release said.

“Mastercard’s Data Responsibility Imperative is a good model for companies that want to use data while honoring individual privacy rights,” said Jules Polonetsky, CEO of the Future of Privacy Forum. “Data is more than just a valuable business asset; principled, moral data practices are a corporate responsibility. In the long run, companies that build trust through principled uses of data — even when there is a short-term cost — will be best suited to thrive in a data-driven economy.”

In September, the European Union’s (EU) Antitrust Chief Margrethe Vestager said new rules may be imposed to ensure companies that collect data are not misusing it. 

So far, most data issues with tech companies have been handled on a case-by-case analysis, without specific regulatory guidelines. Vestager has fined Google and Qualcomm around $10 billion euros after they were found to have squashed competition.