Personal Data v. Big Data: Challenges of Commodification of Personal Data

Open Journal of Philosophy, 2018, 8, pp. 206-215

10 Pages Posted: 14 Jun 2018

See all articles by Maria Canellopoulou-Bottis

Maria Canellopoulou-Bottis

Information Law, DALMS, Ionian University

George Bouchagiar

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

Date Written: May 11, 2018

Abstract

Any firm today may, at little or no cost, build its own infrastructure to process personal data for commercial, economic, political, technological or any other purposes. Society has, therefore, turned into a privacy-unfriendly environment. The processing of personal data is essential for multiple economically and socially useful purposes, such as health care, education or terrorism prevention. But firms view personal data as a commodity, as a valuable asset, and heavily invest in processing for private gains. This article studies the potential to subject personal data to trade secret rules, so as to ensure the users’ control over their data without limiting the data’s free movement, and examines some positive scenarios of attributing commercial value to personal data.

Keywords: Personal Data, Commodification, Trade Secret

Suggested Citation

Canellopoulou-Bottis, Maria and Bouchagiar, George, Personal Data v. Big Data: Challenges of Commodification of Personal Data (May 11, 2018). Open Journal of Philosophy, 2018, 8, pp. 206-215, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3186347

Maria Canellopoulou-Bottis

Information Law, DALMS, Ionian University ( email )

7, Rizospaston Voulefton av.
49100 Corfu
Greece

George Bouchagiar (Contact Author)

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki ( email )

Thessaloniki
Greece

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