I think the answer to this lies in regulation, but I think we also need to start treating the thriving market for our personal data differently. Privacy and regulation is super important. But I think we, as "products" also need to become active, engaged participants in the economic market for our personal information. We should have profit sharing agreements with Facebook to resell our data, should we consent to data sharing. Only then, I think, will we really have a stake that is worth more than writing angry articles and blog posts.
This is exactly the sentiment I think we need to get rid of. I have it too. Why? Because it is depressing to think of ourselves as a product; we'd rather just dismiss that idea as "being of a culture we do not choose to belong to".
But the problem is that's like an ostrich sticking its head in the ground. People are making money off your existence, off of every click you make online, off of your gender and your religion and what you read last weekend.
Until we are able to accept that reality as active, willing participants, we won't be able to demand better legislation to give us agency is the issue. The ostrich never had any agency in the stampede rumbling by him.
I don't think that's necessarily wrong, if some money is being made off a common resource. Every Alaskan citizen gets annual oil-fund checks, for example.
Following the general rule in economics that special interest groups are more powerful than the masses in passing legislation I think any regulation would make this worse i.e. "enforced real-id online to make us safer".
Comments
"Not surprisingly, Facebook appears to have gone farther than the other sites when it comes to sharing data."
This isn't really the expectation you want your users to have.
Interesting to note that Google comes up in this though.
This is leading to regulation. Hard and swift.
I think the answer to this lies in regulation, but I think we also need to start treating the thriving market for our personal data differently. Privacy and regulation is super important. But I think we, as "products" also need to become active, engaged participants in the economic market for our personal information. We should have profit sharing agreements with Facebook to resell our data, should we consent to data sharing. Only then, I think, will we really have a stake that is worth more than writing angry articles and blog posts.
I wrote an expanded version of this comment as a blog post here for anyone who wants to read it and comment, here or there. http://edwardbenson.com/facebooks-product-is-you
That sounds like people being paid to exist
This is exactly the sentiment I think we need to get rid of. I have it too. Why? Because it is depressing to think of ourselves as a product; we'd rather just dismiss that idea as "being of a culture we do not choose to belong to".
But the problem is that's like an ostrich sticking its head in the ground. People are making money off your existence, off of every click you make online, off of your gender and your religion and what you read last weekend.
Until we are able to accept that reality as active, willing participants, we won't be able to demand better legislation to give us agency is the issue. The ostrich never had any agency in the stampede rumbling by him.
I don't think that's necessarily wrong, if some money is being made off a common resource. Every Alaskan citizen gets annual oil-fund checks, for example.
Following the general rule in economics that special interest groups are more powerful than the masses in passing legislation I think any regulation would make this worse i.e. "enforced real-id online to make us safer".
>>"Not surprisingly, Facebook appears to have gone farther than the other sites when it comes to sharing data."
>This isn't really the expectation you want your users to have.
It kind of is - Facebook's raison d'etre is sharing information easily.