alt Hacker NewsData can never be stolen, because it is not a physical thing. Data can be copied, and it can be erased - sometimes both happens at the same time. Data can be lost, that is when its last existing copy was erased.
Replies
altruios • today at 2:52 PM
pedantic and true. What was stolen was not data, but future revenue based on exclusive access to that data.
b00ty4breakfast • today at 3:41 PM
[dead]
The use of "steal" for non-physical things pre-dates the use of "data" in the modern sense [1]. Policing language incorrectly is not reasonable.
[0] https://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view....
[1] https://www.etymonline.com/word/data