Today, Project Liberty Institute is proud to launch a new report: “How Can Data Cooperatives Help Build a Fair Data Economy? Laying the Groundwork for a Scalable Alternative to the Centralized Digital Economy,” in collaboration with the Decentralization Research Center.
Released during the UN’s 2025 International Year of Cooperatives, this report marks a pivotal moment to acknowledge the global impact of cooperatives and reimagine their role in shaping a more democratic and equitable digital future. It examines how the cooperative model with hundreds of years of legacy is evolving, highlighting a diverse set of models, from cooperative and hybrid approaches being tested today to startups and digital platforms, as well as legacy co-ops experimenting with new infrastructure and legal frameworks.
It includes case studies, authored by their founders and executive leaders, from across various sectors: from legacy cooperatives in agriculture and finance to emerging data cooperatives focused on digital art and online browsers. These examples range from long-established institutions to brand-new experiments, illustrating the flexibility and adaptability of cooperative approaches in the data economy.
Key Insights:
- Data as a collective resource: Individual data rights and consent frameworks are not enough. Data’s real value comes from being pooled thus making collective models like co-ops a powerful alternative.
- Scale out, rather than scale up: Co-ops grow through networks, not monopolies. This allows for decentralized, context-driven, and democratic governance that reflects the nature of data itself.
- Quality data is needed for better AI: The shared ownership provided by the coop model ensures those who generate it share its benefits. Co-ops incentivize quality, trustworthy data, making them uniquely aligned with both ethical AI development and fairer outcomes for contributors.
- Shaping markets, not just regulating them: Policy has supported cooperatives, making them a legacy model; it should do the same with data cooperatives. Governments must move beyond ex-post and punitive regulation only and act as proactive market shapers to support cooperative infrastructure.
