Personal Data Markets: A Narrative Review on Influence Factors of the Price of Personal Data

Personal data has been described as the “the new oil of the Internet.” The global data monetization market is projected to increase to USD 6.1bn by 2025, and the success of giants like Facebook or Google speaks for itself. Almost all companies create, store, share and/or use personal data i.e. information from or about individuals. While the current assumption is that data subjects voluntarily share their data in exchange for a “free” service, the awareness of the value of personal data and data sovereignty is growing amongst consumers, businesses, and regulators alike. However, there is currently no consensus on which factors influence the value of personal data and how personal data should be priced regarding self-determination and data sovereignty. With this narrative review, we answer the following research question: Which factors influence the pricing of personal data? We show that research on the subject is diverse and that there is no consensus on the optimal pricing mechanism. We identify individual privacy and risk preferences, informational self-determination, sensitivity of data and data volume and inferability as most prevalent influence factors. We underline the need to establish ways for data owners to exercise data sovereignty and informed consent about data usage.