Data Mobility at the Intersection of Data, Trade Secret Protection and the Mobility of Employees in the Digital Economy

Abstract

The technological tools that are available in the digital economy have expanded the possibilities of private companies to collect online data. In fact, many business models online depend on the processing of data. Yet, the myriads of data flowing on the Internet first of all raise the need to categorize different types of data (e.g. personal v. non-personal). The latter is important not only for clarifying the (optimal) scope of their legal protection, but also for the intersection of data and trade secrets. The relationship between data and trade secret protection may, in particular, be relevant in the digital multi-sided platforms, the functioning of which is based on the flow of data. An increased use of social media for business purposes has sharpened the issue of access to data between employers and employees. In fact, the disputes over access to data as regards social media accounts in case of a departing employee have arisen on both sides of the Atlantic. Often such access has been claimed on the basis of trade secret protection. Yet, the question, which needs to be analyzed deeper, is whether access to data as regards social media accounts in the employment or post-employment context is related to trade secret law only. Possibly, the solutions for solving the problem of access to data in such multi-sided platforms, as social media, in case of a departing employee could be searched for in the framework of labour law.

Keywords: data protection, trade secrets, employee mobility, access to data in social media accounts, data flows on the Internet, (platform) competition, digital economy