The Personal Data Economy (PDE) reaching its full potential depends heavily on data mobility.
Fully enabling the safe and easy transfer of data between individuals, organisations and governments will create a transformational opportunity which has been identified as the next major digital accelerator of economic growth.
Growth in the PDE to date has been fuelled by consumer demand and regulation, such as GDPR, to increase data privacy.
This has been very important in establishing a better data model, one where personal data such as health, finance, wearables and social is increasingly freed from the control of companies or apps who hold it, and returned to those who create it.
Better data privacy is a human right, as well as an essential precursor to data mobility. But the time has now come to take another big step forward, and turbo-charge the ability to share this data safely and easily.
This move, too, is in response to consumer demand – research increasingly shows that consumers don’t just want to be empowered by their data, they also want to be free to share it on their terms in return for benefits.
For example:
- Experian’s Global Identity and Fraud Report, released in January 2019, found that 70 per cent of consumers are willing to share more personal data in return for benefits.
- A US Center for Data Innovation survey, released at the same time, found 58 per cent of Americans were happy to share their most sensitive medical data, such as biometric, medical or location, in return for services or benefits they want.
- Accenture’s annual Technology Vision report for 2019, meanwhile, says that innovation for organisations will hinge on building trusted relationships with consumers, including being transparent and giving consumers control over their data.
Enabling the safe and easy sharing of personal data by individuals and organisations, then, will be the key to unlocking new markets, innovation and more personalised products and services.
So the next challenge, for society and innovation, becomes how we maximise this opportunity and work to fulfil the data mobility promise. Crucially, how do we create the digital tools that enable this safe and easy sharing to take place?
Exploring the practicalities of safe and efficient data sharing was the spur for personal data business innovation consultancy Ctrl-Shift setting up the ground-breaking Data Mobility Infrastructure Sandbox.
The central objective of the Sandbox, a collaboration of market leading organisations including Barclays, the BBC, BT, Centrica and Facebook, with digi.me as the data facilitator, is to enable the safe and easy sharing of personal data, consented and controlled by the individual, enabling value that is fairly and safely shared by all.
- BBC blog: Looking at the BBC’s role in data-led services
- BT: Regulation as a catalyst for innovation
The first phase of the Sandbox work has identified eight critical gaps that require co-ordinated intervention to fully unlock a safe, competitive and vibrant personal data market.
As a ready-to-scale data sharing platform, digi.me has already spent a great deal of time and development on considering, and in some cases finding answers, for each of these gaps.
We have incorporated our knowledge and learning to date into a new white paper, which you can read here, exploring what is known, as well as what is needed, to plug these gaps, which include liability, 3rd party validation, privacy communication and authentication.
We are proud of our work, and mission, to pioneer data mobility and fuel data-driven innovation.
Building a successful and effective PDE, on a foundation of consent, will truly put individuals at the heart of their data, able to benefit from it and in control of who sees it.
This, in turn, will create a more personalised future that will ultimately benefit us all.
*To discuss the concepts in our white paper and how we can help your business make data mobility a reality, please contact:
Fabrizio de Liberali – fab@digi.me – digi.me Chief Product officer