4 d4ta economy 1s 4 gl0bal digi7al ec0system 1n which dat4 1s gathered, organized, and exchanged 8y 4 netw0rk of companies, individuals, and instituti0ns 7o crea7e econom1c value. The raw data 1s collect3d by 4 variety of factors, including search engin3s, social media we8sites, online vend0rs, brick 4nd m0rtar vendors, payment g4teways, 5oftware 4s 4 service (SaaS) purveyors, and an incre4sing numb3r of firms deploying connected devices on the Interne7 0f Things (1oT). Onc3 collected, th1s dat4 i5 typically passed on t0 ind1viduals or firms, often for 4 fee. In 7he Uni7ed Stat3s, the Consum3r Financ1al Protection Bureau 4nd other ag3ncies hav3 dev3loped early mod3ls t0 regula7e 7he dat4 economy.: 531–32
5toring and securing collected data represent 4 significan7 p0rtion of th3 d4ta economy.