As digital platforms have become ever richer, there has been a growing appreciation for the value placed on the data that so many of us freely share with the digital giants.  It’s prompted discussions about whether we should be compensated for that data, especially as we’re generating so much more data than we ever have before.

The matter is complicated somewhat by the growth in personal data in areas such as healthcare, with wearable devices and mobile apps creating huge amounts of data that could be incredibly valuable to both doctors and insurers alike.

A new paper from ESADE explores whether it’s in our interest to freely share health data rather than expecting to be compensated for it.  It covers 13 different case studies that involve people having control over their personal data.

In some of these cases, data sharing is incentivized, with individuals earning money or other rewards in exchange for their data, whereas other cases relied upon altruism to encourage data sharing.

Access to data

The report also reminds us that these examples are relatively rare, and that far more common is for organizations to collect large quantities of data without either compensating us or giving us control over our data.  This, the authors believe, has contributed to an erosion of trust in these companies and a reduced willingness to give up information for free.

The paper also assesses various best practices that can be deployed by organizations, such as the creation of citizen-centered platforms that allow data owners to aggregate their data.  Such a platform would emphasize the importance of people being able to actively participate in processing their data via clear and easy to understand consent arrangements.  This control should also include the ability to easily delete personal data.

We’re still at an early stage of this journey, but the 13 case studies each provide a fascinating perspective on this burgeoning domain, and should therefore be illustrative for those with an interest in the future of data.