Asher Kessler

This article was originally published on 17th September 2021 as part of P. Newsletter

What is the biggest issue of our generation? Well, yes there is Coronavirus, and yes Brexit is a pretty big deal. But in the long term, if I was putting my money on anything, it would be data and the global scramble to collect, collate and analyse your data.

This week P. interviewed Rebecca Rumbul, who as part of the Privacy Collective, is suing two massive tech firms – Oracle and Salesforce – for spying on you and then selling your data to the highest bidder, all without your consent.

‘Our data is being harvested in all sorts of ways…I think there need to be controls on it’

You may not realise it but when you use your internet browser, whatever you are searching, however much time you spend on certain websites, and thousands of other pieces of data, are being collected, collated and then sold. Your computer is collecting data on you, so is your iPhone, Alexa, and pretty much anything that is ‘smart’ or connected to the internet whether that is your sound system, your car, or your fridge.

It is, according to Rebecca, time for all of us to ‘flex our muscles as citizens…to stop people profiting off you’.

Your data is valuable because when it is combined with the data of millions of other people, it can allow companies or political groups or states to better understand your behaviour. It can even empower companies to know you better than you know yourself.

Amazon might know that you are pregnant before you do. An online betting company might interpret from your data that you are becoming a problem gambler and ramp up their adverts and offers to you so that they can cash in.

The question of who owns your data is intrinsically political. Last week it was announced that a Chinese tech firm, Zhenhua Data, with links to the Chinese state, had compiled the details of millions of people around the world. A geopolitical struggle over who has your data is increasingly rising to the forefront of tensions between China and the US. And as the world increasingly relies on data, just who has it and what they do with it will become ever more important.