Data is now driving the global economy — just look at the list of the world’s most valuable companies. They collect and exploit the information that users generate through billions of online interactions taking place every day. But companies are hoarding data too, preventing others, including the users to whom the data relates, from accessing and using it. This is true of traditional groups such as banks, telcos and utilities, as well as the large digital enterprises that rely on “proprietary” data.
數據正驅動著全球經濟:只需看看全球最有價值的企業的名單就明白了。它們收集並利用用戶每天數十億在線互動所生成的資訊。但公司也把數據當作自己的「小金庫」,阻止他人(包括與數據相關的用戶)訪問和使用。銀行、電信營運商和公用事業單位等傳統企業,以及依賴「專有」數據的大型數字企業,都是這樣。