Over the past few decades, the proliferation of Internet-connected cell phones, apps, and other high-tech gadgets has led to an explosion of personal data that businesses now capture, process, and sell.
A document released Thursday by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), while most countries have regulations in place on data use, most people are unaware of what is at stake or their data rights .
Authorities should implement new data governance systems to “level the playing field between data subjects and data controllers”.
They should require companies to get clearer consent to collect data, explain clearly how it will be used, and make it easy for the people who collected it to retrieve it.
The role of the BIS as a hub for major central banks highlights how widespread the demand for stricter data rules is now.
“When data is shared between data providers and data users, the data governance system should specify what data is requested for sharing, how long it will be retained by data users, and who will process it,” indicates the document.
Current controls differ considerably. While the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which came into force in 2018, is generally considered the most comprehensive, it is still seen as presenting problems.
Other parts of the world are much less advanced. The United States, for example, where most Big Tech companies are based, still lacks comprehensive consumer privacy laws, relying instead on a patchwork of state and industry rules.
The document says data subjects also lose out because their information is often locked away in corporate silos or platforms after using an app, website or service. In turn, companies can then combine this data with other attributes such as income and education to derive insights and predictions, creating “derived data” often considered more valuable.
The young and less affluent also tend to be denied loans due to a lack of credit history, whereas if they had full access to their data online, that could be used instead. “Young people take time to accumulate tangible collateral and the poor may never acquire enough collateral,” the paper said. “These low-margin, high-risk consumers are not profitable to reach in the traditional system without access to digital data sharing.”
He added that any new governance system should meet the following standards. Purpose limitation – ensure that the purpose for which data is shared is described in clear and specific terms.
data minimization – only share the amount of data strictly necessary. retention restriction – ensure that data is not shared longer than necessary.
limitation of use – ensure that data is only used for the purpose for which it was shared. operational resilience – ensure data is secure.
Summary of news:
- World central bank group criticizes Big Tech data collection
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