Data payment

Data payment as an anonymous currency on the Internet. Most people read texts on the Internet via posts (Facebook), articles (newspapers / magazines) and receive information (website / products / shop). Most people see images on the Internet through similar and related media channels (Pinterest, Instagram> owned by Facebook). So why is there so much free information?

Last year (May 25, 2018) there was a great outcry in various ranks with regard to the GDPR. Everything went relatively smoothly in Austria, we are a small state with relatively little influence. Platforms were created that help with the “correct text” and ensure legal conformity, the WKO was overwhelmed by inquiries and users with more and more cookie notices (“Yes, I agree that my data will be saved”) – which has been anchored in law since 2012. But what has changed for the daily internet user? Does he now know more about his rights? Is he or she even interested in it? And if so, how far? What steps are necessary to gain clarity about your digital profile, caught in the everyday of possibilities.

In my opinion, little has changed in the behavior of the users, although more caution and more fear can be spread, and in my opinion also will. Someone who has no access to technical and legal understanding and has no idea how data is (can) be stored can basically only research out of self-interest and for their own protection. In our context, the Internet, with 2-3 minutes of maximum attention spans and a maximum of three clicks to achieve the goal: regardless of whether the brand is known and the reader is interested, your own data often falls behind the possibilities of the World Wide Web.

The film “The Great Hack” (see trailer below, attention, in English) tells the story from three different angles. The user who wants his data back and requests his data profile in the context of the US election. This path leads him to Great Britain, the place of the responsible company that kept his data as a US citizen. The British journalist whose job is to wake up and expose the context for the democratic systems tries to disclose. The inside view of a “whistleblower” conveys the facts (timelines) to underpin a human ignorance at the expense of the user (regardless of whether it is a citizen or a media-economy context).

After this film it was clear to me that our legal systems didn’t stand a chance. NOT because it is impossible to get clarity about data protection. But because the rapid developments are accepted as a recurring excuse. Accepted with the full awareness that every citizen worldwide receives “free” information with his data set. Payment is in data, in knowledge of this person, this person who is identifiable, who sits in a group with other people with similar preferences and interests.

So we help companies outside of Europe to gain size with our data, pay with € or $ or other currencies (Bitcoin) for their services, which work because we give them our data (everything has to go so quickly). Voluntary. With every click.