Can I license only part of my company data to AI?

The short answer

Maybe. micro1 says scope and boundaries are set with each partner company, but it doesn't say whether folders or channels can be excluded. Ask in writing before committing to partial scope.

1List sources,mark exclusions2Export only therest3Confirm scopein writingDecide exclusions before export andconfirm the scope with the buyer in writing.1List sources, markexclusions2Export only the rest3Confirm scope in writingDecide exclusions beforeexport and confirm the scopewith the buyer in writing.

Owners often assume the choice is all or nothing. The public record doesn't confirm or rule out anything in between.

What does micro1's intake ask for?

micro1's David Revland, who works on human data, said in an undated recorded forum talk that the data manifest form asks which services a company uses. It also asks for a rough size for each. Revland said micro1 supplies instructions for finding the sizes.

A micro1 referral partner said in a micro1 video that the form takes under 10 minutes. The partner gave Google Workspace at 3 TB and Slack at 300 GB as examples (all self-reported). See what a manifest form asks.

Can you edit data before it leaves?

Not according to micro1 staff. In the same undated talk micro1 staff said companies can't pre-scrub. The same talk said redacting first would destroy the cross-tool trail micro1 needs, so micro1 transforms the data itself.

My reading is that any exclusion happens when you choose what to export. Editing has no part in it. How micro1 transforms names explains the step.

What can Google's export filter?

Google's Data Export tool can export all data or one user's. Higher editions add more choices:

  • an organizational unit
  • a group
  • up to 100 users

The Assured Controls add-on adds filters for service, Drive label and date range. Google says a filtered export leaves out shared drives. It points to the full export for them. Whether micro1 accepts a filtered export is a separate question for micro1.

What would you hold back?

A law firm lists categories to exclude outright:

  • privileged material
  • HR files and payroll
  • health and benefits data
  • union communications
  • customer or partner confidential information

My do-not-license list gives the sources. Shared Slack channels hold other companies' words.

Does a smaller scope change the payment?

micro1 lists dataset size and volume among the factors that set what it pays. The partner said the amount follows employee count and data sizes (self-reported). No formula is published. So no source says how much a smaller scope would change an offer.

What should you ask in writing?

Here's what I'd ask:

  • Can you exclude a source, a folder or a mailbox?
  • Who sets the exclusions?
  • Does the price change?

micro1's page says companies can review representative samples before prepared data is used (self-reported). So I'd ask whether that review covers your exclusions.

Talk to a privacy or commercial lawyer in your state before you sign.

micro1 may pay us a referral fee if a company we introduce goes ahead with it. How we are paid

Apply to micro1's data partnership (paid link)micro1's own data-partnerships pagePaid link. How we are paid

Vaultfish helps you run the process. We are not lawyers and this is not legal advice. If you need counsel who knows this area, we can point you to one. Ask for a referral