This event was centered on ethical use of data and concerns on privacy versus common good. Ethics in the use of data was the theme of the Permanent Forum. In order to think about the ethical and legal aspects of data use, a new area of knowledge is constituted, involving philosophers, lawyers, economists, computer scientists, among other areas of knowledge. Ethics in the use of data, or data ethics, permeates research and business, requiring debate and training. This presentation examines the goods promoted by the European Union’s Regulation 2016/679 (the General Data Protection Regulation [GDPR]) and the privacy the GDPR intends to protect. It looks at the role of personal data in the EU in terms of citizens, economics, and politics. It asks the question ‘Wherefore the public good in the EU law and legislation on data and AI?’ The role of the uses of data for health and science are examined against the background of the GDPR and the foreground of Open Science. The views presented here are those of the speaker’s. They do not necessarily reflect those of any organisation. Francis gratefully acknowledges the work of the membership of the International Science Council’s CODATA International Data Policy Committee (IDPC), the RDA COVID-19 Working Group, and the EOSC-Future / RDA Artificial Intelligence & Data Visitation Working Group (AIDV-WG). Francis’ EOSC Future / RDA Ambassador for Ethics & Law and the EOSC-Future projects are co-funded by the European Union’s Horizon Programme call INFRAEOSC-03-2020 - Project ID 101017536. CODATA is funded by the International Science Council (ISC) and Horizon Europe as well as by other funding organisations. The Research Data Alliance (RDA) is funded by Horizon Europe as well as by other funding organisations (see here). Francis is grateful for the support provided by CODATA and the EOSC-Future and the RDA communities, structures, and secretariats.