Digital Data Ownership in the Current World — Is Decentralization via Blockchain Technology the Answer?

TLDR; The current state of data is a mess. Digital Identities are being sold every day. Are we doomed or is decentralization and innovative blockchain technology here to save us all?

The current state of digital data ownership is a complex and ever-changing landscape. On one hand, we have companies like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter which make billions of dollars every year by selling our data to the highest bidder. On the other hand, we have emerging technologies like blockchain and by default, decentralization that promise to protect our data and give us back control over who can access it and how it’s used.

So, which is the better option? Is decentralization inevitable, or are the current Web2 platforms here to stay?

To answer this question, we need to take a closer look at the current state of digital data ownership and the role of the current decentralization models in the future of the internet.

Let’s start with a closer look at how digital data is currently being exploited…

In an article posted by Pew Research Center, the stats clearly depicted the title of the article perfectly as the stats spoke for themselves.

This survey was conducted in 2019 in America, so you might wonder how the stats have changed since then, and whether the situation is the same for the rest of the world.

No matter how much we want things to improve, the answer is, unfortunately, No. If anything, the current data ownership, and exploitation state have only gotten worse.

According to an article published on Security.org, social media companies like Facebook and Twitter are selling our data to the highest bidders online. From things like names, photos, videos, and videos watched, to every little thing we do on these Web2 platforms, everything is on the plate for the taking.

How can we forget the famous scandal of Cambridge Analytica and Facebook where it was proven that the data of millions of Facebook users was misused for personal gains?

However, despite several attempts to ban big social media platforms from getting our data and selling it to the highest bidder, this practice still continues.

Have you ever wondered why when you talk to your friends about anything and you open your phone afterward for any social media application, let’s say Facebook, you see an advertisement of the very thing you were talking about?

Sorry to break your bubble, but it’s not magic. It is, however, an allegation that explains why Facebook hired hundreds of contractors to transcribe the audio of its users.

Not just Facebook, but companies like Google, Amazon, and Apple have also been caught recording our conversations without our knowledge or consent. These companies have been quick to defend themselves, saying that the recordings are used to improve their voice recognition software. However, many people remain skeptical about their true motives.

And why wouldn’t we be when these digital media tycoons literally own every piece of data you put on them and can take away everything as they please?

To give an example of the dictatorship that these giants exercise, let’s consider Google, the biggest search engine by a humongous margin. Statista.com paints a vivid picture of how dominant Google is when compared to its competitors.

Source: Statista.com

Now there’s a guy named Víctor Muñoz who is the founder of an NFT startup called BRIGHT NFT and participates in other companies as an advisor, ambassador, and researcher.

Recently, Víctor’s Google account got disabled which contained important information about his clients, investors, and company documentation. Despite going through the official communication channels of Google, Víctor couldn’t revive his Google account and more importantly his important data, nor was he given any reason that he violated Google’s policies.

Now whether or not the alleged policy was broken is not the question, the real question to ask here is whether it is truly worth being in the shoes of Víctor who got up one day and saw this screen when he tried to log in to his Google (Web2 digital media) account. (Read the full post of Víctor Muñoz here)

Source: Víctor Muñoz LinkedIn Post

This is just one of the many examples of how our data is being exploited by the current Web2 platforms. As you can see, the current state of digital data ownership is a mess. We are constantly being tracked, monitored, and our data is being sold to the highest bidder without our knowledge or consent.

This is where blockchain comes into the picture.

You see, the reason these Web2 platforms can get away with such bad practices is that they are centralized. They have all the power and control over our data.

However, with blockchain technology, we can have a decentralized internet, also known as Web3.0, where the users would be in control of their data.

With blockchain, there would be no need for these intermediaries like Facebook, Google, Amazon, etc. We could connect with each other directly without any third party in between.

Not just that, but blockchain can also help us create a new form of identity that cannot be exploited like our current identity.

Recently, one of the biggest blockchain networks in the world, Polygon introduced the Polygon ID with a decentralized mission: ‘’Putting users in control of their identity and personal data is a way to enable social coordination and take back power from third parties.’’

Polygon ID went live at the ETH Bogota Hackthalon event where Web3 developers had first-hand experience using the product. Although the full product is yet to be launched, the identity and trust services that Polygon ID provides might just disrupt the data ownership market.

Data ownership is a crude concept that is amplified when SocialFi comes into the picture.

SocialFi is the combination of Social and DeFi, where users are empowered with the ability to earn from their interactions and influence as content creators.

With SocialFi, you own your data. You can choose who to share it with and how to monetize it. You are in complete control of your data.

Companies like Lens Protocol are leading the SocialFi arena and building great SocialFi networks such as Kindeck and many others to truly give power back to the users. (To read more about SocialFi, read this in-depth article)

Now, let’s take a look at some SocialFi platforms as an example to show what true data ownership feels like.

Steem

Steem is a social blockchain that allows users to make revenue streams by being rewarded for sharing content.

Steem’s main platform, called Steemit, is a social media network integrated with the Steem blockchain. Just like other popular content-driven social networks such as Reddit and Medium, users on Steemit get equipped for their level of participation in the form of cryptocurrency.

Here’s how it works:

• The more value a particular piece of content provides to a greater number of people, the more the individuals responsible for creating and curating that content can earn.
• Content is rated by users through voting, with upvotes earning creators more money. Downvotes are also possible, providing participants with more flexibility when it comes to rating content.
• Users that have more currency can impact the voting process by having greater influence.

You can read the official FAQ of Steemit to get a better idea of how the platform actually works.

Decentralized Social

Decentralized Social or ‘DeSo’ is a game-changing, new blockchain technology that promises to decentralize social media and pave the way for scalable storage applications that can service billions of users. DeSo is also compatible with other existing blockchains, making it a valuable tool in the push for Web3.

DeSo’s social blockchain makes social media content available to anyone, like a public utility. It combines the financial system of cryptocurrencies with an efficient database infrastructure, which is designed to create Web 3.0 social networks.

DeSo believes in true decentralization, as the whitepaper of DeSo states, ‘’We believe all of these problems can be solved by decentralizing social media in the same way Bitcoin and Ethereum are decentralizing the financial system.’’

Lens Protocol

Lens Protocol is a social graph that allows creators and communities to launch their own social media platforms on the blockchain, which in turn enables them to create censorship-resistant content for a decentralized web.

The project uses a decentralized social graph created through the use of a graph database. A GDB is used to store data in the form of nodes, edges, and properties that show relationships between participants in a network.

The primary idea behind Lens Protocol is NFT user profiles. Everyone is able to create one, and this gives them full control over their data. These profiles include all posts, comments, and mirrors (which we call Publications in the ecosystem). It’s important to note that each profile NFT is owned by a unique address, which can own multiple NFTs.

This takes us directly to the concept of NFT and its role in giving full power back to the user.

NFTs and Data Ownership

NFTs also play a very important role in data ownership.

NFTs are non-fungible tokens that are stored on the blockchain and represent a certain piece of digital or physical data. Since NFTs are stored on the blockchain, they cannot be duplicated or counterfeited which makes them the perfect solution for data ownership.

The best thing about NFTs is that they are completely decentralized which means that the users are in complete control of their data.

Unlike a Web2 social platform where your content and data are owned by the platform itself, in a SocialFi network NFTs form a medium to transfer ownership back to you — the actual owner of the data. This is possible because of the indestructible nature of blockchain and the technological foundation for cryptocurrencies. You see, even if someone creates a lookalike of an NFT and assesses the genuine ownership signature, it is possible to track it to one wallet address at a time. As a result, no two persons can possess a unique asset.

You cannot own a BAYC monkey that already belongs to another wallet address unless the owner transfers that NFT to your wallet. For example, this BAYC NFT costs 77 ETH (at the time of writing) and it cannot be owned by anyone other than the specific wallet address of the owner that holds it — a luxury not present in Web2 platforms when it comes to content/data ownership.

Source: OpenSea

This article on The Block highlights why exactly NFT is not just a profile picture. The author, Frank Chaparro says: ‘’By allowing users to own their content and trade over a marketplace instead of within a closed ecosystem, NFTs create a potential for greater flexibility and ownership to experiencing a game as well as add further complexity to a player’s experience using an in-game asset.’’

Of course, the concept of NFTs isn’t just limited to a digital game, it applies all over the platform. What’s important to note here is that NFTs drive the ‘ownership’ mechanism in a Web3 platform, something that isn’t present on Web2 platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

Centralized vs Decentralized

When it comes to data ownership, there is no doubt that decentralized platforms are the way to go.

The reason is simple. On a centralized platform, the company that owns the platform also owns your data. This means that they can do whatever they want with your data. They can sell it to advertisers, use it for their own purposes, or even delete it if they want to.

On a decentralized platform, you own your data. You can choose who to share it with and how to monetize it. You are in complete control of your data.

In the end, it all comes down to control. Who do you want to be in control of your data? A centralized company that doesn’t care about you or a decentralized platform that puts you in complete control of your data?

The choice is yours.