Almost every internet tech giant, be it Facebook, Google or Twitter, has flourished by optimising and channelising their strategies that are largely derived from the personal information of billions of users that are on the platform. So far none of the users has gained any monetary benefit against their sensitive personal information that is either used, leaked, sold or hijacked by the platforms itself or their clients. Looks like, the table may turn soon!
A study that has been conducted recently highlights how people in various countries value their private information, and this could have a direct impact on the financial books of such internet giants who are largely banking and feasting upon such information.
it’s been recorded that the US users of the world’s largest social media platform Facebook seek $3.50 for sharing their contact information wherein in Germany, the users want Facebook to pay them about $8 per month for the same.
This unique and interesting study was conducted by the Technology Policy Institute (TPI) which is a U.S. based think tank. It is also first of its kind which attempts to quantify the value of online privacy and data. The habits of six countries, namely the United States, Germany, Mexico, Brazil, Columbia and Argentina were taken into consideration to assess how much privacy is worth.
The study found Germans want to be paid more for letting technology platforms share their personal data with third-parties which was immediately followed by U.S. consumers.
According to the study, it has been observed that users have placed a higher bid for their financial information such as bank balance and biometric information such as fingerprint data in particular. The least valuable data for the people was that of the location.
The study also highlights that technological platforms would have to pay their users or consumers a monthly of, on an average, $8.44 to share their financial information, $7.56 to share their fingerprint information and $6.05 to read an individual’s texts and $5.80 to share information on cash withdrawals.
Also, while the U.S. and German counterparts considered in the study preferred to not see advertisements on their phones, the Latin American consumers said that they do prefer to see ads on their smartphones.
Technology Versus Privacy in 2020
The past few years gave a very serious indication that technology platforms have repeatedly exploited their user’s privacy by collecting their data without giving a clear explanation.
It has become an issue of growing concern about how companies from technology platforms to retailers have been collecting and monetising personal data. Starting from Facebook Cambridge Analytica debacle, Google’s collision with EU-privacy regulations to Youtube’s data collection of users below 13, the U.S. regulators have repeatedly imposed hefty fines on these tech giants in hopes of keeping them in check. However, the problem keeps on growing as more and more incidents are coming out in the daylight. While states like California have already put a new privacy law in place, U.S. lawmakers and regulators are constantly working on federal privacy legislation.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra sent a letter to four top U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday urging them not to pre-empt the state’s new privacy law with watered-down federal legislation.
The President and senior fellow at TPI, Scott Wallsten believes that differences in how much people value the privacy of different data types across countries will act as a suggestion if users in that region or country prefer weaker rules or stronger rules when it comes to privacy regulations.
The study believes that the quantification of the value of privacy is necessary for conducting any analysis of future proposed privacy policies.
As expected, Facebook has neither responded or reacted to users’ concerns who want the world’s largest social media platform that caters to over 2.49 billion users worldwide, compensate for their personal data. Whatsoever be the stand Facebook – along with other internet giants – may have the future for all the internet giants that are feasting on such data is going to be tough.
