The era of Big Data
officially began about ten years ago,
when the corporate internet got it in their heads that data could be harvested and later mined for the purposes
of business growth and expansion. They
realised that, although they did not know how to use all of the data available,
one day they would, thereby creating the need to start collecting as much data
on internet users as possible. Now, some
are calling on the world's biggest tech
companies to be regulated in the same way
that utilities are.
OZON Group’s CEO Maelle
Gavet is among those who believe that companies such as Facebook and Google
cannot be trusted to self-regulate in terms of protecting consumer privacy or
guarding against data breaches. She believes
that it is time for regulators to step in and put some buffer between tech
companies and the customers they serve.
The dichotomy for Gavet - and those who share her opinion - is one of how much regulation is
appropriate. It is a legitimate
dichotomy.
Gavet
explains in a Wired Magazine article that internet technology has certainly made the world a better place, in the same way that energy companies
and telecoms have. She also explained
that she is not in favour of politicians who go so overboard in regulation as
to stifle progress and innovation. At the same time, she believes that corporate
self-regulation is not reality. So,
where to draw the line?
It is clear that there
will always be some amount of tension between commercial and social
responsibilities. A company such as Facebook
does owe its shareholders a fiduciary responsibility to make them money. By the same token, they have an equal
responsibility to not abuse the customers who use their product. Harvesting, mining and selling data seems to
go well beyond commercial responsibility and into the area of customer abuse.
Any regulations that are put in place, such as the European Union's
recent right to be forgotten law, have to find the delicate balance between
business freedom and consumer rights.
Regulations have to consider everything from Big Data training to a
corporate infrastructure always seeking
to maximise returns. Perhaps one of the
reasons the world has been so slow to regulate is the fact that no one quite
knows how to do it yet.
Consumers vs Politics
In her closing paragraph,
Gavet says, “we need to find a balance
between companies, governments and individuals about data and the right to
privacy.” Unfortunately, just as she
maintains that self-regulation among tech companies is a fantasy, so is protecting
the rights of individuals within the arena of government. Government, by definition, takes away rights
rather than protecting them.
In a world of cloud
computing and superfast broadband connections, any talk of regulating tech
companies must not start with the idea of balance. Indeed, the scales should be tipped
demonstrably in favour of individual privacy and security. The needs of government and big business
must, by necessity, not outweigh those of consumers.
Source: Wired Magazine – http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2015/03/ideas-bank/data-google-facebook
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