Investigating Conditional Data Value Under GDPR

Abstract

The calculation of data value is based on the assumption of continued presence of information. When the data in consideration concerns personal information, laws such as the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) affect how this data can be exploited. Under the GDPR, data must be used on the basis of explicit consent, which can be withdrawn at any time by the concerned data subject. This posits that personal data dependant on consent can not be used after the consent is withdrawn. The data value associated with such personal data will also change with such a change in consent. This position paper explores the change in data value for personal data under the GDPR. The paper analyses the obligations and conditions provided by the GDPR for data usage and how they affect the data value chain. This is then used to identify potential approaches towards effective utilisation of available data through techniques such as aggregation and anonymisation. Finally, the paper proposes a method for investigating conditional data value by incorporating data existence and availability as a metric.