The New Privacy Premium

As the flow of personal data intensifies, will Millennials keep sharing 24/7? And will they care who mines their material? Hear one expert’s viewpoint

Privacy doesn’t matter anymore, especially for Millennials — right? Everyone shares everything about where they are and what they’re doing via a multitude of different social networking apps and location tracking apps. And, very few people take the time to understand just how broadly their data is being disseminated. Now add health and wellness apps and wearable technology, and you’ll find people sharing their steps, pulse, and medical data as well. So, it really might seem that people truly couldn’t care less about their privacy.

Is that really true? Or do people trust that the data is being used for the intent of providing them with the services promised, with perhaps a side order of advertising thrown in?

Let’s take an example of a Millennial who tries on a new tank top at her favorite retailer and takes a picture of herself in it to get fashion advice via the retailer’s service. That image, the location it was taken, and its subject’s name are all data that is valid to collect. However, the notion of proportionality says that once the service has been provided, the data should be discarded, or at least anonymized so the individual can no longer be identified. Our Millennial doesn’t care if her friends, family or even future employers see her in the top. However, if she were to discover that said retail app sold the photo to the “Terrific Tanks” company and was making lot of money from it … how do you think she would feel then? She didn’t consent to her photo being used for that purpose, so she probably won’t be thrilled.

Consumers have very little technical control over where and how their data is used. When registering for a site, there is typically a long legal document to which all users of the service “agree” they have read and understood. Seriously? How many have you read and actually understood?! Even if you have, once the data is collected there is no correlation between the data and the consent contract. That means that once the data is stored, there is no technical way to go back and determine for what purpose it was collected nor for what it is allowed and not allowed to be used. This is especially important for sensitive information that identifies an individual.

While we can debate whether privacy matters or not, it’s fair to say that most people share their data with the understanding that it will be used for the publicized purpose and nothing more. The Snowden Affair surprised and angered the law-abiding public because although they understood the Telcos knew who they called, for how long, etc. as part of the service provided, they did not know such information would be provided to the US government. Going back to our tank top example: If our Millennial tries something on at a shop and takes a photo of the results in order to get fashion advice via the retailer’s service, that image, the location it was taken, and our Millennial’s name are all data that is valid to collect. However, the notion of proportionality says that once the service has been provided, the data should be discarded, or at least anonymized so the individual can no longer be identified.

And therein lies the challenge: With more and more sensitive data being captured, technological solutions addressing the issues of consent and proportionality will have to be developed. The fact that people are willing to share more than in the past does not mean they don’t care about how the data is used and by whom, as is highlighted by IBM’s Consumer Study,

While companies, organizations and governments may understand this, they have very few tools to enable them to abide by privacy norms and laws. At IBM Research we recognize this and are working on providing innovative new solutions to address these challenges. It won’t be easy, but it will be necessary in tomorrow’s data-rich world.