Understanding Business Contact Details as Personal Data

With the advent of the internet, especially the Web 2.0 era, we have seen the rise of numerous platforms fueled by user-generated content. Among these platforms, websites like Quora, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Scribd, and SlideShare have become household names. However, in the early 2000s, there was a model that stood out innovatively - the Jigsaw project.

The Evolution of Jigsaw

Jigsaw, founded before its current iteration as a part of The Customer Success Platform, was a marketplace for trading business contact details. It was a platform where people could buy and sell such information among themselves. As it was back in 2005, the idea of such a marketplace seemed revolutionary.

Given the rise in web-based platforms, it brought to mind a classic question: Are business contact details considered personal data?

Privacy and Confidentiality Implications

The Jigsaw concept raised several privacy and confidentiality issues. What happens when an individual acquires a business contact as part of their work for an employer? Does sharing these details with a marketplace constitute a breach of confidentiality? This led to a fundamental question: Whose Rolodex is it anyway?

Tracing Back to Privacy Laws and Public Records

One tweet highlighted a perspective that adds a new layer of complexity. It points out that even information considered personal in privacy laws, such as names, dates of birth, and addresses, are actually public records. Birth certificates and house sale deeds or rental agreements are accessible, making the notion of "personal" data somewhat redundant.

Striking a Logical Conclusion

Given the above context, one logical conclusion can be drawn:

If business contact details are considered personal data, they automatically become non-personal data due to being public records. If business contact details are not considered personal data, then they remain non-personal data by definition.

This paradox can be likened to the classic novel Catch-22, which often uses illogical solutions to highlight absurd situations. Essentially, business contact details are not constrained by the same privacy laws as personal data, making them non-personal in nature.

Note: The author is not a privacy law expert but feels compelled to share this insight, which is intriguing and thought-provoking.