"Martin Husovec, an assistant professor at Tilburg University in the Netherlands who has written about data portability, said authorities were debating whether to require Facebook to make more of its real-time data available to competitors. In Britain, regulators now require banks to provide access to certain financial data, allowing smaller companies to offer digital banking services that are becoming popular with customers.
“Data gives companies power, that’s why it becomes an important resource,” Husovec said. “If you force a company to share the information perhaps you reduce the competitive advantage and level the playing field.”"