Data privacy: From technology to economics

Abstract

In this paper, we attempt to relate two different approaches to data privacy - the technological approach, embodied in the current Privacy-preserving Data Mining work, and the economic regulations approach. Our main thesis is that none of these two approaches alone will be able to address the important, growing data privacy issues. We advocate a hybrid system, combining both approaches in a complementary manner. We present a view of privacy in the context of an accepted taxonomy of economic goods, stating the question: if privacy is exchanged and traded, then what kind of good is it? We also show that, viewed in the light of an established economic growth theory, involving privacy in the growth process leads to a steady state growth. © 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.