There has been (rightly) a big focus on privacy at this year’s CES tech show, but we were surprised and delighted to see keynote speaker Ivanka Trump coming out in favour of individuals being in control of their own personal data.
The revelation came as Ms Trump, the entrepreneur daughter of the US president, was being interviewed by Gary Shapiro, head of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), which organises the Las Vegas event, on stage in front of delegates.
During the discussion, the BBC reported, she asked him rhetorically: “Why can’t you have your high school degree verified and in your phone, so an employer doesn’t need to call your high school?”
She also suggested that skills obtained on health and safety courses, or in manufacturing roles, could also be logged.
She added: “All of that should be catalogued and tracked and available and accessible.”
Ms Trump is absolutely right, of course – our own personal data being available and accessible is a fundamental human right, and here at digi.me we’re working hard to make this available to everyone, everywhere.
Greater availability of personal data, decentralised and held by individuals, will bring mass convenience and benefits not only to people who need or want to re-use their data, or even to the employers mentioned in Ms Trump’s example.
It will also benefit governments who require proof of various statuses or eligibilities, and are crying out for a more efficient way to administer these, and innovators in every sector, who are pushing the boundaries of what is possible in terms of personalised services and care, and can go so much further, faster, with easy access to fully consented data.
In short, it will benefit every sector of society – and the ability to make this reality, today, exists with digi.me.
So we’re delighted to have a friend in Ivanka. Welcome on board.