OTTAWA — A top Bank of Canada official is warning about the risks related to the growing dominance of a handful of big players in the digital economy and, more specifically, their tightening grip over user data. Wilkins emphasized concerns about the use of big data by tech giants, which she said include social-media companies and online marketplaces. Their ability to access and control user data has enabled some to drive out their rivals and weaken the healthy, economy-wide benefits of competition, she said. “The winner-takes-all effect is magnified in the digital economy, (in) part because user data have become another source of monopoly power,” she said in her speech in Montebello, Que., east of Ottawa. In Thursday’s speech, Wilkins said many jurisdictions need more clarity to deal with legal concerns over data privacy, security, intellectual property and consumer rights.

Source: National Post February 08, 2018 18:12 UTC