Why the Internet Needs a Data Portability Ecosystem

Delara Derakhshani is director of policy and Zander Arnao is a policy intern at the Data Transfer Initiative (DTI). Shutterstock The internet powers nearly every aspect of our daily lives. Every day, digital services collect and generate data about what we like and dislike, who we are connected to, and how we interact with the world around us. Personal data is the lifeblood of this ecosystem–it powers industries, enables new innovative features, and (most importantly) comprises the substance of our digital identities. As users engage over time, their personal data represents an important record of their digital experiences. But presently, users have little control over this record.  Users spend years, even decades, interacting with particular services by providing and generating data about themselves, resulting in innovative and highly personalized experiences. Consider, for example, how music streaming platforms have fundamentally changed modern music listening. Streaming platforms empower users to forge social connections, curate new musical experiences, and share the fruits of their exploration with others. This is made possible in part by the enormous amount of time and energy users put into creating playlists. While this personal data enhances user experiences on a particular platform, the difficulty of moving playlists across services makes switching to an alternative less attractive. Users are less willing to switch to new services that may better satisfy their needs if it means losing their playlists. As a result, users can feel locked into an incumbent platform due to barriers that disincentivize switching.  Historically, this phenomenon of…Why the Internet Needs a Data Portability Ecosystem