We just published a short article on The FinReg Blog run out of the School of Law at Duke University, USA, about our recent journal article: “Data as asset? The measurement, governance, and valuation of digital personal data by Big Tech“.
Here’s the opening paragraph …
“Digital personal data is often described as the resource of the future. In 2011, the World Economic Forum defined it as a “new asset class” that “is generating a new wave of opportunity for economic and societal value creation.” The importance of personal data is evident in the rise of so-called “Big Tech”—consisting of Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet/Google, and Facebook—as the dominant firms in our society today (see the graph below). Big Tech firms have inserted themselves into our lives as key social and economic intermediaries, providing often essential services, products, and infrastructures, all of which we use in exchange for handing over our personal data. Our personal data seem to be the key asset for these Big Tech firms—and other digital technology firms like them—providing an important new means for investors to evaluate future growth and success. Consequently, data governance, or how we measure and value personal data, has become a major issue in policy and business circles.:
You can find the rest of the article here.