As the data ownership debate shifts to the right of movement, how can data be used fairly between data subjects and companies?

There is an ongoing debate about who owns personal data, such as transportation history, between data subjects and big data holders. Recently, there has been a movement to legalize the right to data portability instead of data ownership to strengthen data subjects’ self-determination rights and facilitate data sharing and distribution among companies. While legislating the right to data portability can help reduce the cost of data creation and transactions and revitalize related industries, it also raises concerns about monopolization due to data concentration.

 

Records, such as transportation history, are personal data, and the individual is the ‘data subject’. Data has no physical form and is easily replicated and reused. When this data is aggregated and processed in large quantities, it becomes big data, and companies that process it are called “big data holders”. Big data in the industrial sector has economic value because it can be utilized for specific purposes.
There is a debate on who should own the data as a commodity. There are two views of ownership: the big data holder and the information subject. The former argues that granting ownership rights to big data holders makes it easier to create and distribute big data, thus revitalizing data-related industries. The latter view is that individuals are the main producers of information, and it is unfair for wealth to be concentrated in the hands of big data holders, so information subjects should also be rewarded.
Big data is not just a collection of data; it is highly sophisticated and analyzed to create new insights and value. For example, retailers can analyze customer purchase data to optimize inventory management and marketing strategies, and in healthcare, patients’ medical records can be used to develop personalized treatments. This use of big data can significantly improve a company’s competitiveness and spur innovation across industries.
However, the discussion of data ownership is more than just a matter of legal ownership; it involves complex issues of data utilization and ethics. When data is concentrated in the hands of a few companies, data monopolization can occur, which can reduce market competition and stifle innovation. Policies related to data ownership must therefore be carefully designed to ensure fair access to and use of data, while also fostering a thriving data economy.
Recently, the debate has shifted from who owns data to the right to data portability as a way to access data. Korea has strengthened the data subject’s right to self-determination of personal information by stipulating the right to data portability rather than ownership. The right to data portability is the right of a data subject to request a data holder to transfer his or her data to him or her or a designated third party free of charge. However, this does not apply to personal data that has been collected, analyzed, and processed by a big data holder to create new value.
Even before the law was enacted, there were services that allowed you to move your direct deposit items between banks. This was partially implemented in accordance with interbank agreements. With the introduction of the right to data portability, the scope of data subjects’ autonomous control and management has been expanded to include parts related to the behavior of data subjects, such as the consumption history of shopping mall products.
By legislating the right to data portability, companies can reduce the creation cost and transaction cost of data. Creation costs are the costs incurred when developing data within an organization, which can be reduced by replicating and reusing transferred data rather than collecting data on their own. Transaction costs are costs incurred in transactions between economic entities, such as signing contracts or resolving disputes. However, with the enactment of the right to data portability, companies that receive data from data subjects can reduce costs by receiving data from companies that previously held the data. This will facilitate sharing and distribution among companies and revitalize related industries.
On the other hand, there is a concern that if data subjects move their data to companies with high security credibility and many benefits for providing data, it may lead to data concentration and reduce data sharing and distribution. For new companies with little data, collecting data through transactions with existing companies is an efficient way to reduce data creation costs. However, if existing companies with concentrated data are unwilling to share their aggregated and processed data, it will be difficult for new companies to enter the market, which may lead to increased monopolization.
Therefore, in addition to legalizing the right to data portability, additional policies and regulations are needed to promote fair data use. Examples include measures to make data more transparent and accessible, standardization of data sharing, and legal mechanisms for fair competition. These measures are essential for the sustainable growth of the data economy and will benefit both data subjects and companies.