China’s plan to nationalize private companies’ data - Protocol

China, the land of big numbers, will soon hold the most of yet another precious resource. But unlike its huge labor force, mounds of rare earths and manufacturing prowess, this reserve — its zettabytes of data — is just beginning to be tapped. Soon, China's central government could lean on private companies, including the country's fintech giants and foreign multinationals, to share more of their data — not just in response to one-off demands, but wholesale. In recent policy documents, including China's 14th Five-Year Plan, released in March, central authorities have designated data as one of a small number of "factors of production" — national resources that form the backbone of the country's economy. As of April 2020, it has been considered on par with land, labor, capital and technology in its potential to generate GDP. To facilitate this, one Beijing-led initiative would ask private companies and government departments to trade and exchange data with each other. The goal — outlined

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