Data Is the New Currency
Carrie E. Gates, Peter Matthews · 2014
Data is growing. We are all aware of this in the IT industry, it is a common mantra. The elephant in the room is the ownership of that data and the use of that data. As with many new technologies, its legal and personal implications are not well understood until the technology has matured. Data ownership has by default resided with organisations that hold the data; utility companies, websites, retailers and data aggregators and brokers. If data could be owned by the people it identifies, the data handlers would have to pay to use that data for sales and marketing purposes. We are not suggesting payment would be the mostly illusory free services and hidden discounts that are the current answer but real money or an asset that can be bartered or purchased. If even the poorest people can gain an income this would revolutionise personal finance for those who register on the web either for purchases or to make their name available for use. We propose such a revolution in data ownership and urge all data generators to establish their rights to a business asset that they frequently gift to already wealthy organisations. Don't be a mere generator of data, become a personal data aggregator, collecting and controlling all your data. Time to man the barricades against entities who are using your data for their profit and pleasure, not yours.