This master's thesis focuses on examining the role of individuals in the data economy from the perspective of personal data value. The thesis explores personal data and the data economy from multiple angles while keeping the focus on the individual. In this way, the thesis aims to provide a fresh perspective on the topic.
The thesis includes a literature review that delves into the evolution of the data market and the factors driving the value of individual’s data in this context. The literature review also explores alternative methods for determining data value based on current research and literature, applying it to individual data record. The literature review is complemented by a synthesis, using meta-analysis to examine the European data market and economy from the perspective of the individual. The meta-analysis leverages research from the European Commission as well as user data required by the Digital Services Act regulations from Very Large Online Platforms and Search engines. These sources of information are supplemented with financial statements to identify the overall picture of the value generated by individuals for both the data economy and platform companies monetizing user data.
Significant findings of the thesis include the individual's contribution to the value of the European data economy and its growing development over the years. The analysis also demonstrates that value growth is mainly driven by data collection, storage, processing, distribution, and analysis. Additionally, the literature review's finding regarding quantifying data value with income approach applied to financial figures provides insight into how much individual platform companies benefit from European users annually. These results offer a fresh perspective and concrete evidence on a topic that individuals often have limited understanding of, despite the increasing number of operators collecting personal data in our society.
