Data cartels: The companies that control and monopolize our information

Abstract

The word ‘cartel’ often conjures a definition focusing on price fixing and production manipulation to increase profits and reduce competition. When used in the context of the critical information that governs our lives and personal and private behavior, the term ‘cartel’ takes on a more sinister aspect with shades of ethical impropriety. Data Cartels: The Companies That Control and Monopolize Our Information is a full expository on information cartels controlling the prices of the different types of data: personal data, academic research, legal information, financial data, and news. The author a law professor and a former law librarian specializes in data privacy and information access, among other areas. Her book takes us inside these cartels’ free-for-all realm, showing how they collect, commodify, and monetize our informational and data assets. These cartels are responsible for reinforcing social inequality and threatening democratic knowledge exchange.