In the era of the burgeoning digital economy, data has emerged as a key factor of production. However, China still faces prominent challenges in the practical protection of data rights, leading to various dilemmas in their application, which significantly constrain the development of the data factor market. Starting with fundamental concepts, this paper explores the construction path of a data rights protection mechanism in the digital age. It analyzes the attributes of data in terms of personality rights, property rights, and sovereignty. Drawing on international experiences in data rights protection and addressing current legal dilemmas—such as ambiguous data ownership (entitlement), limited reliance on existing protections, the conflict between circulation and security, and challenges from emerging technologies—this paper proposes defining the nature of data rights as a “new type of property right”. It establishes principles for data security, personal information and privacy protection, and data circulation and utilization. By distinguishing the subjects of data rights, defining the objects, and allocating the content of rights, this research aims to resolve the predicament of data factor circulation, contribute to the rule of law in China’s digital economy, and gain a strategic advantage in the formulation of global data governance rules.
Yurou et al. (Thu,) studied this question.