‘Who Owns Data?’: Emerging Debates on Data Ownership, Distribution and Protection in Digital Democracies

Today, in the post-industrial society, the data created by computers and the internet are becoming a new ‘means of production’. With this, there is a new-found realisation on the question of its ownership, distribution and protection. The question of accessibility in this regard is also becoming a crucial issue in democratic political systems. Internet and data have led to epistemological changes such that new rights for citizens are required with an overhaul of democratic processes founded in digital methods. It will definitely have its own challenges, limitations and possibilities. As data protection bills are now being introduced in many countries of the world, it is important to analyse the key theoretical nuances in the data ownership discourse. In this regard, this article attempts to highlight these nuances along with the scope for new public policy frameworks required in the domain of data ownership, distribution and protection.