The datafication of digital journalism: A history of everlasting challenges between ethical issues and regulation

Abstract

Data permeates nearly all spheres of society, and journalism is no exception to this since data has become a cornerstone of reality construction and perception. This contribution sets out to historicize the datafication processes in digital journalism and the way in which European institutions of media (self-)regulation have dealt with ethical issues regarding the use of data in algorithmic journalism in three areas: accountability, transparency, and privacy. The article shows that the process of datafication in journalism cannot be observed and analyzed in isolation, given that there is a double reflexivity between data-driven societal transformation processes and what happens in journalism. However, almost all press councils in Europe have so far ignored data-driven phenomena like algorithms or news automation. As a consequence, if self-regulators do not regulate, other institutions will, with the risk of news organizations being forced to make decisions on the grounds of regulatory frameworks that are not primarily intended for journalism.

Intereses editoriales en el debate sobre Inteligencia Artificial: la renuncia de Geoffrey Hinton a Google en la prensa española

“…En las últimas tres décadas, el periodismo digital se ha establecido firmemente tanto en el ámbito profesional como en el académico (Salaverría, 2019). No obstante, enfrenta múltiples desafíos, como mantener la calidad del texto periodístico, abordar cuestiones éticas, adaptarse a las regulaciones y asegurar su sostenibilidad económica (Porlezza, 2023). Además, se añaden los conflictos y posibles restricciones a la autonomía periodística derivados de la publicidad nativa (Beckert, 2022).…”

Comunicación y Big data [Presentación del monográfico]

“…La nueva realidad de la ratificación del periodismo digital lo que ha puesto de manifiesto es una nueva fase de eternos desafíos entre cuestiones éticas -responsabilidad, transparencia y privacidad, sobre todo-y de regulación, no siempre bien resueltos en el pasado. De ahí la urgencia de una regulación ahora y de una actualización de los códigos de ética actuales, que apenas ofrecen orientación sobre cómo se deben utilizar los datos, los algoritmos, la automatización y la inteligencia artificial de manera transparente y responsable (Porlezza, 2023).…”

“…What the new reality of digital journalism ratification has revealed is a new phase of eternal challenges between ethical issues -responsibility, transparency and privacy, above alland regulation, not always well resolved in the past. Hence, the urgency of regulation now and of an update of current codes of ethics, which hardly offer guidance on how data, algorithms, automation and artificial intelligence should be used in a transparent and responsible way (Porlezza, 2023). This is a demand taken up by most professional organizations, which have organized meetings and manifestos on these issues in recent months.…”