Abstract:

The modus operandi of big data governance was considered, and a typology was provided, which included simple analogies, legal transplantation, and regulatory imagination.Neither contradictory nor mutually exclusionary, all these modus may co-exist at a certain period on a continuous spectrum.To aid the reader’s understanding, the concept of path dependence was used as a point of reference.The first two modus operandi was essentially path-dependent whereas the third was characterized by detaching from any existing paths or inertial thinking.Based on this quasi-methodological account, some high-level recommendations were provided for big data governance.Firstly, as a means of governance, property thinking had been stretched to the logical point of exhaustion.It was of prime importance when and how derails from it while genuinely designing rules around data practices distinct from tangible goods exchange.Secondly, legal transplantation has been the engine for big data governance.Yet, transplantation was far more sophisticated than mere legal translation, and the former was more of a means rather than an end.Lastly, in contrast to the previous two path-dependent methods, a third modus operandi i.e., “regulatory imagination” was proposed, which stressed the urgent need to detach from any outdated paths or thinking.Building imaginative capacity was a complex and lengthy process, requiring interdisciplinary thoughts, cognition rooted in practices rather than concepts, and effective rule-theory interaction.

Key words: big data governance, path dependence, simple analogy, legal transplant, regulatory imaginary