Headline April 06, 2018/ ''' DATA'S *WEALTH* DAMS '''

''' DATA'S *WEALTH* DAMS '''

ALMOST ALL COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD, love data. But the chasm between digital governance aspirations and-

The ability to protect that data is growing wider and wider by the hour.

Mumbai, India : The Indian government is in thrall of the dazzle and promise of technology, seeing    it as a vehicle to overcome the inefficiencies of its humongous bureaucratic apparatus.

Prime Minister Modi, who has spoken relentlessly of his dream of a digital India and flaunted the miracle of technology by appearing in public as a three-dimensional hologram in numerous places at the same time, has described data as -

''Real Wealth'' that would confer ''hegemony'' on ''whoever acquires and controls it''.

But alarming gaps in India's information security infrastructure, government departments and the  Unique Identification of India - the federal agency running the Aadhaar project -have exposed-

The private data of several million Indians on numerous occasions over the last two years, writes Rahul Bhatia.

*So, should Data Gatherers be regulated like financial advisers? Here then is an opinion from one author with a specialist perspective with the hope off promoting constructive debate about all consequential questions:

In Europe and on Yolt, a well made banking app doesn't have to make very many assumptions.

It knows where you work and what you earn; how much your mortgage is and how much you spend on utilities; whether you are in Love or not-

How much debt you have; how much you spend on your hobbies; what your regular habits are - And, how and when you deviate from them.

An app of this sort will not actually sell your data [the ones were reviewed are explicit about this]  but they will, in Yolt's words, use it to offer you products from ''relevant and exciting partners''.

Perhaps if it sees you breaching your overdraft limit, it might have a go at selling you a loan.

If it sees your bank pays a very low interest rate on your savings, it will allow a competitor to offer you one with a special bonus rate.

If it sees you are buying dinners for two and overpriced bunch of flowers it might offer you a  [bigger] mortgage or a car loan.

If it sees you are traveling to Portugal, it could steer you towards a foreign exchange broker.

IT IS TIME for regulators to force apps to give their customers more information about how much of their data will be used and how.

As with financial providers, apps should be required to send their users regular statements detailing how their data has been employed and what the consequences have been.

If your data was used to sell you something, you should know that and how much app provider  received as commission.

You should also be given choices about you want to pay.

Users who like an app but do not want to give it free rein with their data should be able to pay a monthly cash fee.

MANY PEOPLE love using Facebook, Twitter and Google both socially and professionally.

Elizabeth Linder, formerly head of Facebook's London based political division, points out that in some parts of the UK, people trust Facebook updates from their local police force even more than a phone call from a police officer.

That is something that has value for the police and the communities they serve, and some users might be happy to pay for it.

But they are surely entitled to full transparency over how and how much they are paying.

The good news is that we already have a template for this oversight in the way we regulate firms that gather financial assets.

The bad news for the data gatherers is that if customers actually knew how they were paying for their  ''free'' online services, they might be less enthusiastic about signing up for them.

THAT realization may be why Facebook, Google and Amazon shares all fell hard this week.   

With respectful dedication to the Students, Professors and Teachers of the world. See Ya all on !WOW! - the World Students Society and Twitter-!E-WOW! - the ecosystem 2011:


''' History & World '''

Good Night and God Bless

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless