Data portability should put individuals in control of their own data
Data Portability Revisited: Toward the Human-Centric, AI-Driven Data Ecosystems of Tomorrow
Artificial Intelligence
Summary
Current laws about data portability mostly protect companies that own and manage your data rather than you. The authors argue that data belongs to people themselves, as it is a key part of their identity in the digital world. They discuss how new rules and technologies in the European Union show a path toward letting people gather and manage their data safely on their own. This could help build smarter AI tools focused on individual needs in the future.
What this means in practice
- •For data privacy teams: Design regulatory compliance strategies that anticipate a shift toward user-controlled data ecosystems in response to evolving EU data privacy trends.
- •For personal data platform builders: Develop secure personal data storage and aggregation tools that empower individuals to control and share their data with AI applications safely.
A position paper. It proposes an approach and reports no results.
Authors
Mark Fenwick, Michael Fertik, Paulius Jurcys, Timo Minssen
Abstract
This Article critically examines the contemporary regulatory framework and discourse surrounding data portability in the United States. Using recent regulatory developments in the European Union as an illustration, this Article suggests that although data access and portability are identified as vital issues in multiple policy instruments, in its current iteration, at least, legal conceptions of portability continue to reinforce the interests of service providers and data controller enterprises rather than individual end users. This Article argues that a paradigm shift toward a more human-centric data approach to data governance must occur, under which data would be recognized as fundamental to an individual's identity in a digital age. Therefore, it should be placed in the hands of individuals rather than service providers or data controller enterprises. This Article considers technical and market trends in the European Union that reveal and facilitate such a change. It suggests that regulatory frameworks should better align with these technological and market developments to encourage change-inducing trends among market actors. In short, this Article identifies a transformative approach to data portability that empowers individuals with the freedom and ability to aggregate their data in secure personal spaces under their control or dominion. Such a human-centric perspective on data portability is crucial in building Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered applications for individual consumers that can pave the way for the human-centric, AI-driven data ecosystems of the future.