World Economic Forum

Personal data: The emergence of a new asset class–Opportunities for the telecommunications industry

Digital data created by and about people represents a new economic asset class that could transform the telecommunications industry.

By Klaus Schwab, Alan Marcus, Justin Rico Oyola, William Hoffman, and Michele Luzi

Published on February 07, 2011
min read


Personal data—digital data created by and about people—represents a new economic "asset class", touching all aspects of society. The abundance of personal data represents untapped opportunities for economic growth and social benefit. This report reflects a subset of the discussion with experts and stakeholders in the context of the World Economic Forum's "Rethinking Personal Data" project. For a more comprehensive overview of the results of the project, download the full report.

Personal data—digital data created by and about people—represents a new economic "asset class", touching all aspects of society. The abundance of personal data represents untapped opportunities for economic growth and social benefit.

This report reflects a subset of the discussion with experts and stakeholders in the context of the World Economic Forum's "Rethinking Personal Data" project. For a more comprehensive overview of the results of the project, download the full report.