Personal Data as a Market Commodity in the GDPR Era: A Systematic Review of Social and Economic Aspects

Aleksei Zelianin

doi:10.18267/j.aip.168

Abstract

With the development of modern data processing, mining and collection technologies, various companies and institutions will have more opportunities to make these data operations faster and more efficiently. From the economic perspective, processing personal data is evidently lucrative and companies would therefore like to obtain as much data as possible. This paper analyses and summarizes existing and emerging social and economic trends, implications and issues caused by clashes between European legislation on personal data protection (the GDPR) and current data processing practices. Utilizing both quantitative and qualitative data, the article attempts to scrutinize the implications of the conflict between the rising demand for privacy and personal data protection on the one hand and the ever-growing need to process and store personal data, especially by commercial organizations, on the other. Analysing databases, legislation, reports, statistical data and surveys, the paper attempts to provide an estimate of the value of personal data and the consequences of poor handling of personal data.

Highlights

Those whose area of interest is somehow related to the flows of data on the Internet have most likely noticed many times how books, research studies, professors and media recognize data and flow of personal data as the “new oil of the 21st century”, which is further confirmed by the sheer statistical data and facts presented in studies all across the world and in this article
Personal data have become valuable to an extent where they are called “the world’s most valuable resource” ahead of oil, because of how much they inform the way companies communicate with their customers and how they positively impact on customer experience (The Economist, 2017)
The impact of the General Data - Available empirical evidence confirms a reduction in personal data

Summary

Introduction

Those whose area of interest is somehow related to the flows of data on the Internet have most likely noticed many times how books, research studies, professors and media recognize data and flow of personal data as the “new oil of the 21st century”, which is further confirmed by the sheer statistical data and facts presented in studies all across the world and in this article. That figure excludes other big providers such as Dropbox, Barracuda and SugarSync, and massive servers in industry and academia (Science Focus, 2021). With this information in mind, the situation on the market leaves little or no choice but to make the most of modern means of processing potential customers’ personal and sometimes even sensitive data. In many aspects of life, the World Wide Web has made communication so fast and simple that in certain cases people think it has erased national borders. People can base their daily life around the Internet. One can relatively work and earn money on the Internet, socialize, educate, self-entertain and shop buying goods globally rather than locally (Peukert et al, 2020)

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