“For the public benefit”: who should control our data?

Sarit Markovich () and Yaron Yehezkel ()
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Sarit Markovich: Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
Yaron Yehezkel: Coller School of Management, Tel-Aviv University, Ramat-Aviv, Israel

No 21-08, Working Papers from NET Institute

Abstract: We consider a platform that collects data from users. Data has commercial benefit to the platform, personal benefit to the user, and public benefit to other users. We ask whether the platform, or users, should have the right to decide which data the platform commercializes. We find that when users differ in their disutility from the commercialization of their data and the public benefit of data is high (low), it is welfare enhancing to let the platform (users) control the data. In contrast, when heterogeneity is in the disutility from the commercialization of different data items, it is welfare enhancing to let users (the platform) control the data when the public benefit of data is high (low). Furthermore, we find that allowing the platform to compensate users for their data is not always welfare enhancing and competition does not necessarily result in the efficient outcome.

Keywords: data regulation; network externalities; platform competition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 40 pages
Date: 2021-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-com, nep-ind, nep-mic, nep-ore, nep-pay and nep-reg
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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