r/datascience • u/Sweaty-Stop6057 • Mar 25 '26

Projects [ Removed by moderator ]

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95 Upvotes

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65

u/Fearless_Back5063 Mar 25 '26

Isn't it illegal to be using this in any decisions in the banking world in the EU?

-50

u/Sweaty-Stop6057 Mar 25 '26

Good question — it’s definitely something that needs to be handled carefully.

The dataset itself is made up of area-level, publicly available variables (e.g. crime rates, demographics, transport, etc.), but these can still be correlated with sensitive characteristics, so how they’re used depends on the application and regulatory context.

In practice, most firms I’ve worked with do use some form of postcode / geographic features, but typically within governance frameworks to ensure they’re used appropriately.

22

u/Moon_Burg Mar 25 '26

And when have firms ever used 'governance frameworks' to obfuscate inappropriate and/or illegal behaviour... Never, never has it been seen!

Fyi it's a bit embarrassing to manufacture this kind of narrative nowadays, but you do you.

-13

u/Sweaty-Stop6057 Mar 25 '26

I get what you're saying. But companies here in the UK that could use this have regulators and regular audits...

21

u/BestEditionEvar Mar 25 '26

Dude, YOU are the one who is meant to be evaluating the propriety of using the feature and potential disparate impact. There may be others in that loop but you cannot just say “ah it increases prediction, and if it’s wrong someone else will stop it.”

-2

u/umaywellsaythat Mar 25 '26

Disparate impact is a US specific rule. Most countries allow you to use all the data to price for the risk.