All of these apps, platforms and services use blockchain — a technology first used by bitcoin , a type of digital money — to store health information . Because the term “blockchain” has become so nebulous, it’s difficult to pin down the actual upsides to storing health data this way. In most situations, blockchain is not any more secure, reliable or usable than its alternatives. But it does have one distinct advantage: A data-sharing platform can double as both database and cryptocurrency. Behold, the data pays for itself.

There’s just one small wrinkle. There’s no legal property right to personal data.

Once personal data is gathered, it’s out there for anyone to buy and sell. At the moment, there are no legal grounds to demand compensation for use . What these new companies are trying do is to create a new type of data brokerage system that replaces the current system of data brokerage. According to Richie Etwaru, the chief executive officer of Hu-manity.co , the company behind the #My31 app, de-identified health information is already being sold to pharmaceutical companies behind the scenes. This data is being gathered from service providers — like health records software companies — that work with doctors and hospitals. It’s then aggregated and sold for both research and marketing. What Hu-manity.co and its competitors want to do is make sure the patients get paid for those sales — and these new middlemen will take a small percentage, of course.

But such a major change in the way the information economy operates requires changing the law. That’s what these companies are trying to do — quietly, at the state leve l.

[If you’re online — and, well, you are — chances are someone is using your information. We’ll tell you what you can do about it. Sign up for our limited-run newsletter.]

Legally v esting ownership in data isn’t a new idea. It’s often been kicked around as a way to strengthen privacy. But the entire analogy of owning data, like owning a house or a car, falls apart with a little scrutiny.