Minimumsinformasjon

Minimumsinformasjon is a Norwegian-language concept that denotes a principle in information management and privacy whereby organizations limit the amount of information they collect, store, and disclose to what is strictly necessary to fulfill a defined purpose. It is used to describe a disciplined approach to data handling that emphasizes efficiency and user privacy.

Etymology and usage: The term combines minimum (minimum) and informasjon (information). It is used in policy discussions, project documentation, and privacy guidelines in Norwegian-speaking contexts and is closely related to data minimization, purpose limitation, and data governance. It is not a formal international standard, but a descriptive label in regulatory and organizational discussions.

Principles: This approach entails purpose specification, information audits, data minimization in collection, retention limits, anonymization or pseudonymization where possible, and robust access controls and regular review. It also supports transparency and user trust, encouraging organizations to document why data is collected and how long it will be kept.

Applications: In digital forms, websites, mobile apps, and research or operational data collection, minimumsinformasjon guides what data are requested, how long they are kept, and how they are shared. It is a practical framing for privacy-by-design practices and can inform data-sharing agreements and consent processes.

Challenges and relation to law: Achieving true minimization can be challenging for compliance, analytics, or regulatory reporting, and may require trade-offs between usefulness and privacy. It aligns with data protection principles found in GDPR and with privacy-by-design frameworks in Norwegian and other jurisdictions.

See also: data minimization, privacy by design, information governance, data protection.