The Economics of Personal Data on Digital Media Platforms

Abstract

        This article aims to 1) analyze economic frameworks explaining consumers’ decisions to disclose personal data on digital media platforms, 2) synthesize the types of benefits consumers exchange for their privacy, and 3) examine the role of the Personal Data Protection Act B.E. 2562 (PDPA) in correcting market failures in the personal data market, as well as proposing policy and platform design implications for enhancing welfare. The study employs a qualitative documentary research design, drawing on 45 secondary sources selected according to Scott’s four criteria of authenticity, credibility, representativeness, and meaning.
        The findings indicate that users’ data disclosure decisions can be explained by three complementary frameworks: Privacy Calculus, Information Asymmetry, and Behavioral Economics. The benefits consumers exchange for their privacy fall into three dimensions: convenience and reduced information search costs, financial rewards from behaviorally targeted communication services, and social value derived from network effects within the digital communication ecosystem. At the same time, the PDPA addresses market failures related to information asymmetry, negative externalities, and market power by enhancing consent quality, strengthening data subject rights, and defining data controller accountability, although practical enforcement challenges remain. Based on these findings, the study proposes the “Balanced Communication Data Economy Model,” which integrates market mechanisms, legal regulation, and platform design to support a fair and sustainable digital communication ecosystem for Thai media users.