Data Market Discipline: From Financial Regulation to Data Governance
J. Int’l & Comparative Law – (2021)
25 Pages Posted: 16 Mar 2021 Last revised: 3 Aug 2021
Date Written: January 27, 2021
Abstract
Privacy regulation has traditionally been the remit of consumer protection, and
privacy harm cast as a contractual harm arising from the interpersonal exchanges between data
subjects and data collectors. This frames surveillance of people by companies as primarily a
consumer harm. In this paper, we argue that the modern economy of personal data is better
understood as an extension of the financial system. The data economy intersects with capital
markets in ways that may increase systemic and systematic financial risks. We contribute a new
regulatory approach to privacy harms: as a source of risk correlated across households, firms,
and the economy as a whole. We consider adapting tools from macroprudential regulations
designed to mitigate financial crises to the market for personal data. We identify both promises
and pitfalls to viewing individual privacy through the lens of the financial system.
Keywords: privacy, data governance, financial regulation, big data, surveillance, data economy
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