Is evidence portability a question about data formats, or about competition?
From MCC-001, an essay: a hypothesis, not a measurement.
The short answer
Both, the essay argues, and the competition half matters more than it looks. Evidence a buyer can carry elsewhere weakens the advantage of the institution that collected it, which is exactly why that institution may not want it to travel.
As published in the issue
Portability is therefore a question about competition as well as data formats. Evidence can be valuable to a buyer precisely because it weakens the advantage of the institution that collected it.
The sentence above is quoted from the essay as published and is not re-written here. The essay, its date and the address it was published at are below.
Why it matters
Portability is usually argued as a matter of formats and interfaces. If it is also a question of market power, the parties who hold the evidence and the parties who need it have opposed interests.
What we measured
Nothing here was counted. The test the essay sets out for this question asks whether preserving usable access to evidence shortens the period of restored approvals after a buyer changes environments, and the essay states that it has not run.
What the evidence shows
- Issue
- Machine Commerce Conditions: MCC-001 — September 2026
- Published
Method and reproduction
The terms
The terms this question uses are defined in the glossary.
Corrections and disputes
Corrections to this issue are on the corrections register, and this answer reads from the record rather than from a copy.