Do We Truly Own Our Data Today?

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Some were shocked when the Economist proclaimed in 2017, "the world's most valuable resource was data and no longer oil," and further cited the giants that deal in data as:

"These titans—Alphabet (Google's parent company), Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft—look unstoppable. They are the five most valuable listed firms in the world. Their profits are surging: they collectively racked up over $25bn in net profit in the first quarter of 2017. Amazon captures half of all dollars spent online in America. Google and Facebook accounted for almost all the revenue growth in digital advertising in America last year."

Growing internet connectivity has led many companies to express greater interest in monetizing data, running analytics after collecting information, and investing in rapidly-expanding data-focused technologies like artificial intelligence and cloud computing. At best, our data is used to improve our user experience. The data can also be applied to power smart cities, train artificial intelligence, and even drive policy changes based on public sentiment. While this has helped spur innovation, it has left many worried about their digital privacy and the security of personal information, a concern that has grown due to the following examples.

In 2018, the Washington Post reported how fitness tracking application Strava was revealing sensitive information about U.S. military personnel. The outlet also noted that reporters could access the personal information of thousands of military and security personnel via the Polar fitness app.   

In 2019, Facebook paid a USD 643,000 fine to U.K. officials for its role in the