OVERVIEW

In today’s open, digitally mediated society, personal data can easily be accessed at the click of a button. There are several ways in which such personal data becomes accessible in the public domain: a person can make the information in question available to public access for personal/commercial motives, or certain parties can commercialize or misuse personal data that has come into their possession.

In our modern digital world, personal data is more than just raw information. In the eyes of the data-collection industry, personal data is highly valuable information for a number of reasons. Through the gathering of private personal data, businesses may plan future marketing strategies, develop new products, or even gain an edge over their competitors. Most importantly, such private data can not only be used to get to know existing customers in greater detail, but can also reveal new market segments, which can in turn lead to new customers.