BUILDING INSTRUCTIONS TOWARD A DATA COMMODIFICATION SPECTRUM

The present chapter conceptualizes data commodification as a spectrum, following the approach of Radin (as explained in the previous chapter) except where deviations are made necessary because of the local specificities of data. This chapter builds a spectrum, ranging from complete data commodification on the one hand to complete data non-commodification on the other hand. On the spectrum, I systematically identify and cluster the various schools of thoughts that engage with the data commodification phenomenon depending on the degree to which they aim for data commodification, why and how. Then, I will use this spectrum to situate and cluster how EU data legislation and the GDPR respectively engage with data commodification. To do that, and just like Radin, I need two main things. First, I need thematerials, namely, and just like Radin, the relevant literature that reports on the data commodification phenomenon. Second, I need commodification indicia that are well-suited for data commodification.

The relevant literature can be found with data governance, a rich literature that includes various disciplines including economics, philosophy, law, sociology and others, more or less structured around schools of thoughts. Data governance can be defined, broadly, as the system of rights and responsibilities that determine who can take what actions with respect to data, including how such rights and responsibilities interact one with the others.