Fake news. Fake followers. Fake clicks. Where is the trust and where is the love? Around the corner, that’s where.

Tolerance and laissez-faire attitudes are changing. Enough is enough. As the French say: Ras-le-bol. The time for trust, transparency and self-sovereignty is now.

While corporate leaders are starting to take very public social stands, Meeco has been championing data trust, equity and individual rights for some time. Take a look at our manifesto. It’s heartwarming to see enterprises and industries chiming in now as well.

The CEO of Blackrock, the world’s largest investor with $6+ trillion, recently threw down the gauntlet challenging the VC world stating: “Society is demanding that companies, both public and private, serve a social purpose.”

At Davos, billionaire investor and philanthropist George Soros has called out platform giants such as Facebook and Google saying: “It is only a matter of time before the global dominance of the US IT monopolies is broken. Davos is a good place to announce that their days are numbered. Regulation and taxation will be their undoing, and EU Competition Commissioner Vestager will be their nemesis.”

“Data belongs to the user and as companies, we are only stewards of it.”

Also at Davos, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, admitted “Data belongs to the user and as companies, we are only stewards of it.” Time to walk the walk…

Last month Proctor & Gamble, the world’s biggest advertiser announced: “The days of giving digital a pass are over. It’s time to grow up. It’s time for action.” This week Unilever threatens to pull its ads from Facebook and Google because it is worried its consumers cannot trust what they see online. Trust must be earned. No more fake clicks. Data must be verified.

At the citizen level, the most important change in European data regulation in 20 years comes into force this May via the General Data Protection Regulation.

What does this mean and what do we gain? Increased transparency and control. Our consent is no longer passive nor assumed. Companies must consider our rights before undertaking new processing. Not only do we acquire data access and portability rights, but also deletion rights and objection to automated profiling. In addition, we get rights to clearer communication (making it easier to understand all of these rights) and to quicker breach notifications. Companies not complying with GDPR risk significant penalties: up to 20M euros or 4% of global annual turnover, whichever is higher.

Our vision is to create a place for everyone on the planet to get equity and value in exchange for what they share.

Meeco enables customers to share data directly with organisations that they trust on an open exchange that is transparent and respectful for all parties. We call this shared value. It is a new way of doing business where you actively and knowingly participate in the mutual value that is created. We believe that people are the beating heart of emerging MeEconomy and recognise that businesses and customers are moving rapidly towards engagement on equal footing, for the benefit of everyone.

Our hearts and minds are steadfastly focused on creating equity and control for all participants in the Meeco ecosystem; customers, students, patients, employees together with the enterprises, governments, telcos and merchants that are embracing ethical data practices.

Meeco, that’s where you can find trust and love, baked in with privacy by design.

Let’s collectively pinky swear to champion these together.

No faking it. ♥

Elizabeth