Contract law in the age of big data

In data-driven business models, users’ personal data is collected in order to determine the preferences of consumers and to the tailor production and advertising to these preferences. In these business models, consumers do not pay a price but provide their data, such as IP numbers, locations, and email addresses to benefit from the digital service or content. Contracts facilitate interactions between these providers and users. Their transactions are regulated by contracts in which their agreement on data use and data processing are stipulated. Data is always collected and processed through a contractual relationship and in this paper, I will argue that there are problems arising from contracts involving data to which contract law applies and that contract law can map these problems and offer insights. The scope of this study will be limited to issues where data is provided as counter-performance and where data is provided in addition to a monetary payment.