The invisible trade

Trading has been a part of history for some time. In the early days, it was simple, we exchanged goods and measured their value to their relative contribution to our survival. Over time, these goods were replaced with money which created the monetary system. This removed the temporariness and standardized the value of goods and services that were being traded. Nowadays, a lot of money is spent on invisible goods.

“If you are not paying, you are the product.”

The saying goes: “If you are not paying, you are the product.” and that’s true; we are constantly trading (personal) data for insights that will most of the time lead to consumption. In the end, if someone wants to pay for our data, there must be a monetization model.

• What "Prices" are we paying?
• What "Benefits" are we getting?
• When do I "decide" to make the trade?

Getting things for "free" is great, but there needs to be a limitation on the purposes for which data can be used and tangible enforcement when abuse occurs. As technology keeps moving forward and new challenges present itself along the way, regional privacy laws have become an intrinsic part of the data ecosystem, and they are here to stay.

From the invisible trade to visible value exchange

We share experiences and personal information with our friends every day. We trust our friends to keep our information private and not tell our stories to others. Today, companies can do a similar thing with our personal data in the digital world. On the one hand, we enjoy being recognized personally, we enjoy our preferences being remembered, we like our needs being met before it becomes a pain, we share locations with our loved ones for safety. On the other hand, we hope these companies can be as trustworthy as our best friends, and keep our data even tighter than a friend’s secret.

The good news is, some companies have already realized how important transparency and trust are for sustainable business growth. They find opportunities in compliance with privacy legislation. As such, they have already started to approach things differently: turning the invisible trade into a visible value exchange, which means:

• End-users know the "price": what data they are sharing.
• End-users know the "benefits": what value they are getting.
• End-users are "in control": whether they want to trade, or not.

In the new world of visible value exchange, end-users know exactly what data they are sharing, with whom, and for what purpose.
The end-users know what benefits they are getting in return.

We work with forward-thinking clients who are aware of and embrace this change. At Sentiance, we power human-centric experiences; we believe that data collection should be based on unambiguous consent and should be proportional to the value delivered to the end-user. We apply the highest data security standard to ensure privacy for every client. In this way, we empower the world’s leading companies through ethical AI for personalized engagement without violating users’ rights and privacy. We empower companies to create contextualized and personalized products and services while assuring the end-user is always in control of their own data. Not only do we believe it is the only way forward, legislators around the world are enshrining these values in privacy legislation.

Privacy legislation and other initiatives

Entering the world of the privacy legislation acronyms: 2018 saw the entry force of the EU GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act) has been in effect in California since January 2020 and Washington is working on its own version with the WPA. Many more regional data protection initiatives are underway worldwide, and even existing privacy legislation is constantly a subject to change: 

• GDPR is currently undergoing a significant evaluation to be finished by May 2020.
• The European Data Protection Board released its draft guidelines for processing personal data in the context of connected vehicles and mobility applications.
• The CCPA is subject to various ballot initiatives that may lead to further amendments. 

On a more fundamental level, we can see initiatives that aim to foster trust and excellence in technology as more and more aspects of our lives are influenced by it, such as the recent European White Paper on artificial intelligence published February 2020.

Ethical & Sustainable Business Model

The focus on developing data-driven business models should provide ethical & sustainable business value for both the end-users and the company offering the product. For example, offering family tracker services for end-users to ensure the safety of their loved ones, or offering personalized coaching programs to become a safer driver. These business models allow peace of mind for end-users while offering personalized products and services that improve people's lives. Curious about how we can help with your business? Get in touch with us today.

For more info: privacy@sentiance.com