↑ Oil of the twenty-first century and ↓ Competition

• Personal data generates economic value for the three major parties of the digital market: online platforms (such as search engines, social networking sites, online videos, content sites) and their clients, companies and consumers. The economic value of personal data for online platforms, firms and consumers, Cassandra Liem, Georgios Petropoulos and Bruegel, January 14, 2016

• Search engines are intermediaries in a two-way market between users and advertisers. Their huge stocks of data about users and their preferences can help search engines offer better services to all parties. But does this make market entry difficult for new players? And can we see network effects emerging in the search engine market? Search engines, big data and network effects, Georgios Petropoulos and Bruegel, November 22, 2016

• Ethical concerns about the arrogation and appropriation of user data apparently do not matter much. (New) internet search providers have a choice to make, profit from user data or use a different business model, by which they may make big enemies.