The marketplace will provide listings of dataset attribute summaries from both proprietary and open government data sources. Data Republic chief executive Paul McCarney says it will make it easier for organisations to negotiate access to proprietary data.
Data sharing could help businesses to “unlock value in the Australian economy” by improving decision making and helping to solve challenges businesses face, Mr McCarney said.
“There are significant productivity and social benefits that are already being unlocked as the open data trend continues. However, in order to remove risks and respect the expectations of consumers, the market needs to adopt best practice and be sensitive to regulations around data exchange,” he said.
Only anonymous and de-identified data are available through the marketplace, with personal details remaining encrypted and stored in a databank developed in collaboration with Westpac, Mr McCarney said.
Additionally, Users will maintain control over who is able to access their data. They will also have the ability to govern how the data is used after an exchange, enabling data exchanges to remain privacy compliant.
“The lure of significant productivity and social benefits has driven an increase in government open data policies and data sharing among corporates... this trend does not come without risk,” Mr McCarney said.
“The Open Data Marketplace redefines the way data is exchanged by removing the existing risks associated with commercialising and exchanging data by putting privacy, security and the rights of the consumer first.”
