A Noxious Market for Personal Data

TL;DR

The paper critically examines the idea of establishing property rights over personal data, arguing that due to its harmful nature, such market-based solutions may not be appropriate, especially in regions with weak legal protections.

Contribution

It presents a philosophical objection to market solutions for personal data, emphasizing the noxious nature of data and cautioning against property rights as a remedy.

Findings

Personal data is inherently noxious and harmful.

Market-based property rights may exacerbate vulnerabilities.

Legal protections vary across jurisdictions, affecting data agency.

Abstract

Many policymakers, academics and governments have advocated for exchangeable property rights over information as it presents a market solution to what could be considered a market failure. Particularly in jurisdictions such as Africa, Asia or South America, where weaker legal protections and fleeting regulatory enforcement leaves data subjects vulnerable or exploited regardless of the outcome. We argue that whether we could achieve this personal data economy in which individuals have ownership rights akin to property rights over their data should be approached with caution as a solution to ensuring individuals have agency over their data across different legal landscapes. We present an objection to the use of property rights, a market solution, due to the \textit{noxious} nature of personal data - which is founded on Satz and Sandel's objection to markets.