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A Tikanga-Based Model for the Future of Data Sovereignty
The Shifting Landscape of Data Privacy Laws
In the UK, privacy laws are among the most advanced globally (UK GDPR – General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018), granting individuals the right to access and erase personal data held by companies. These protections reflect a growing international consensus that data is a human right, one that must be handled with care, consent, and accountability.
New Zealand has taken significant steps toward adopting similar standards through the Privacy Act 2020, and has expressed increasing interest in aligning with the European GDPR model. Yet New Zealand is also pioneering a more profound shift, one that extends the concept of rights and responsibilities beyond humans.
Privacy Amendment Bill introduces new information disclosure requirements
A New Legal Frontier: Personhood for Natural Entities
In landmark legislation, New Zealand has granted legal personhood to rivers (Te Awa Tupua), forests (Te Urewera), and mountains (Taranaki Maunga). These are no longer seen merely as resources, but as rights-bearing entities, represented by guardians. As legal persons, these natural entities should not only be protected physically, but also digitally, particularly when it comes to the data derived from their bodies, movements, and ecosystems.
This evolution opens profound questions: Who owns this data? Who benefits from it? Who consents to its use?
The Data Sovereignty Debate
Globally, the concept of data sovereignty is becoming synonymous with data ownership. For Indigenous communities and many nations, it’s a matter of self-determination, the right to govern and benefit from the data generated by people, places, and culture.
But as data becomes a currency of power, the world is witnessing rising legal, ethical, and cultural tensions. From AI ethics to environmental data, these debates are creating political polarization and social unrest.
There is an urgent need to move away from the colonial framing of data as a commodity, and toward a new model grounded in relational governance.
Redefining Data as a Living Relationship, Not a Resource
In the Mariko EarthGrids ecosystem, data is not owned in the colonial sense. It is treated as a living taonga (treasure), an extension of the entity it comes from, be it a river, mountain, person, or community.
We shift from:
“Who owns the data?”
To:
“Who holds the responsibility of kaitiakitanga over this data?“
A Cultural Framework for a New Era of Data Stewardship
We propose a governance model rooted in Mātauranga Māori, a living ethical framework that reframes data not as something to be owned, but as something to be cared for. It represents a living ethical and economic system that gives agency to natural entities and centers the relationships around them.
Kaitiakitanga (Guardianship) : Data belongs to the natural entity or person it originates from. Guardians are responsible for its integrity, long-term use, and protection, this includes the entire Mariko ecosystem, the people who install and maintain sensors, nodes and network, also the consumers and the beneficiaries, they are guardians of both the technology and the data it gathers.
Whanaungatanga (Relationships)
All access and use of data must be based on relationships and whakapapa, not just permissions or licenses. These relationships extend between the environment, the data collectors, Mariko EarthGrids, the data consumers, and the beneficiaries of insights derived. Every participant is connected through mutual responsibility.
Manaakitanga (Respect and Care)
Participation must be inclusive and dignified. The data ecosystem must deliver shared benefit, uphold the mana of contributors and environments, and ensure care is embedded in every transaction.
MEG (Mariko EarthGrids) Token: Relationship Contracts, Not Just Currency
The MEG token operationalizes these relationships. It is not just a payment mechanism, it is a digital expression of tikanga.
· It logs guardianship agreements and data access conditions.
· It encodes consent, duration, value exchange, and relational terms.
· It enforces ethical, decentralized governance of data through smart contracts and DAO logic.
MEG becomes the contractual layer between data, people, and places, a form of living accountability that represents and reinforces Kaitiakitanga, Whanaungatanga, and Manaakitanga across all interactions.
The Global Potential
This model offers a new foundation for:
· Ethical environmental data governance
· AI and IoT systems grounded in indigenous values
· True compliance with emerging data sovereignty laws
· Rebuilding trust in digital infrastructure
In Mariko EarthGrids, this isn’t theory. It’s practice. It’s infrastructure woven with tikanga, designed to serve both people and place, now and for generations to come.