Personal information is no longer private. Every day, millions of users’ data are bought and sold on the open digital marketplace. Major corporations have turned your data into a booming industry. Through education and awareness, you can regain control of your data.

The Big Data Industry

According to revenue statistics for 2018, the data industry is worth $166 billion.[1] This number is poised to increase significantly as more companies join the trend of harvesting user data. This data fuels not only revenue from direct sales, but also from powering algorithms to more efficiently market towards you.

Facebook’s data-leak scandal in early 2018 showed the world that data was being routinely bought and sold to third-party corporations. Millions upon millions of users’ accounts were breached without their consent and were utilized to fuel political gains during the 2016 US election.

This violation of trust left many of us concerned about our personal data. The resulting question was “who actually owns our data?” Major corporations easily take our information because we openly use their platforms. Facebook’s network was the perfect data mining environment because users readily input their likes, dislikes, individual characteristics, behaviors, feelings, and thought patterns.

Amazon is another prime example that is host to millions of global buyers and sellers. Amazon’s cutting-edge artificial intelligence uses algorithms fueled by user data to outcompete anything that isn’t Amazon. This means that their algorithms are able to detect market trends before smaller retailers are able to.

Customer information such as purchase history and interests give Amazon’s algorithm an idea of what you’ll be interested in before you know it yourself. This predictive trend has catapulted Amazon to new heights of success at the cost of our data being used against us.

Google has well over two billion users that utilize its multi-platform. Its wide-ranging umbrella covers YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, GoogleMaps, GooglePlay — each has over one billion active users.[2] Although Google claims they do not participate in selling your data, they do share your data in the form of cookies to third-party groups.

Sharing cookies is akin to selling your data because cookies on the internet are small pieces of data that collect your browsing history. Your browsing data is a necessary component to

better understand your likes and dislikes. Your cookies, in essence, are a window into who you are as an individual.

What’s Being Done to Protect Your Data

Recently, various countries have stepped in to demand that major corporations cease their data harvesting methods. The European Union has implemented the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to protect user data. So far, the GDPR forces websites within the European Union to allow you to consent to share your cookies.

An issue with the GDPR is that many websites have found a loophole to force us to consent, whether we want to or not. If you deny access to your cookies, sites will suddenly become barely useable or viewable. So, although you have revoked your consent, websites will force you to agree to their terms if you want to use the platform.

The California Consumer Privacy Act appeared soon after the fallout from the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The law goes much further than the GDPR in the sense that California-based consumers have the right to request what information has been collected on them from data companies.

The CCPA also enables consumers with the right to demand that data companies delete their data. This is a landmark moment that empowers users with the ability to disallow corporations from storing and selling their data.

Personal data comes in all forms, such as geolocation, browsing history, biometric data, and personal identifiers.[3]

Sadly, the CCPA only covers California residents. The rest of the world is still left in the dark regarding who has their data and why they need it.

Blockchain and the Rise of Autonomy

Bitcoin gave rise to a belief in autonomy. Whether for financial or data purposes, users view blockchain technology as a way to leverage their power over various institutions. Blockchain technology has morphed into much more than just a way to move currencies within seconds.

Blockchain technology can trustlessly store data on its immutable ledger. These digital ledgers are impossible to hack, thus keeping your information safely stored. Access to modify your data is allowed through private keys, which only you have access to. With this revolutionary technology at our fingertips, why isn’t there a solution for data privacy?

Taking Back Control of Your Data

Empowering users to regain control of their data is our top priority. With the help of blockchain technology, KABN ID gives you the power to decide who gains access to your data, and who doesn’t.

In the digital world, documents to verify your identity are continuously requested. Our platform allows you to input these documents once, thus never having to fumble for the same documents over and over inconveniently.

Your data is turned into a “digital twin,” and only you have the private keys to share any portion of it with another group. The digital twin that’s powered by KABN ID is twofold: it identifies you without ever compromising sensitive information, and gives you the rights over it.

As global regulators continue to search for the best option to reign in the big data industry, KABN has already begun protecting its users.

[1] https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS44215218

[2] https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/17/15654454/android-reaches-2-billion-monthly-active-users

[3] https://hbr.org/2018/07/what-you-need-to-know-about-californias-new-data-privacy-law