Data brokers
For some time there has been some controversy about where and how corporations are getting access to our data. The people who collect this data that then go on to sell it to corporations are called data brokers. These data brokers collect any information on you that they can, where you shop and all of the things you share on Facebook. Data brokers even know what you google search for and they then take this data and sell the relevant data to corporations that want to gear ads towards you. These data brokers will even sell your medical history information. It could go as far as if you search up heart disease you will then experience more advertisements for heart disease. Data brokers take your information without your say and sell it without giving you a cut of the deal. The Globe and Mail newspaper reported that in the quarter before June, Facebook made $23.59 US per Facebook user. The data market is estimated to be worth 150 billion to 200 billion dollars. Why should people be able to sell your information to corporations that will then use it to manipulate you?
My 31st human right
There has been a growing online movement called the 31st human right. A TED talk by Richie Etwaru envisioned the 31st human right to be “Every human being owns their data forever, and said data is categorized as property.” Richie went on to say that he believes the way to get this human right to be quickly and widely accepted is through blockchain technology. Richie Etwaru’s company Hu-manity.co released the #My31 app to try and do just that, however, it is not available in all countries yet. The Hu-manity.co website describes the app as "Hu-manity.co has developed proprietary technology that identifies existing legal corridors in privacy regulations and has designed new intelligent contracts on blockchains which humans can use to negotiate new terms of consent and authorization with corporations so that inherent human data can be respected as legal property. Hu-manity.co’s global inherent Human Data Consent and Authorization Blockchain (HD-CAB) is built on a “chain of chains” strategy combining Ethereum and other fabrics." The ultimate goal is not that corporations and businesses can't use your data, but that if they do it would be with your consent or that you can sell your data to the companies you choose. No one should have control over our data except ourselves. If our data is our property we could sell it to who we wish, make a profit, and corporations would still be able to get the information they need. The first 30 human rights took hundreds of years to flush out and establish globally, but with the power of the blockchain we can cut down the time for this 31st human right to be established to mere years. That is one of the many powers of blockchain technology.
-Written by James Hepburn