In a recently released statement, Andrew Yang is advocating for big tech users to receive a commission for generating data for platforms like Google and Facebook. He plans on launching this mission through his Data Dividend Project.
This is aimed at starting a data-as-property rights platform designed to create something similar to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The only difference is that the proposed legal guidelines would be applicable throughout the country. Yang is hoping that the project will activate 1 million supporters by the end of the year, starting with Californians.
This platform would allow individuals to receive payment for private data that’s shared on the Internet. The CCPA has been in full effect since the beginning of the year, allowing users to have greater control over their online data so that they can control how it’s utilized, especially when it comes to private information.
The legislation says nothing about customers receiving payment from big tech corporations yet this is what Yang aims to achieve with his new initiative. It’s clear that Yang aims to alter and maybe even improve data property rights legislation through the Data Dividend Project.
Should Yang and his team succeed in pushing the concept through to legislation it will help users to receive some form of payment for the data that they share through the use of various online platforms, particularly those coming from big tech corporations.
Yang expressed his concern upon observing the ever-increasing omnipotence of large tech companies and the fact that they get to determine the rules of engagement through terms and conditions that no-one ever reads. Unfortunately, these terms and conditions never work out well for users.
That’s why Sen. John Kennedy and other lawmakers have been lobbying for the creation of laws that will put the power back in the hands of the people who generate all of this useful data for these large tech corporations.
The downside is that most of these proposals haven’t gained much support from Congress with some saying that data ownership is taking it too far and might encourage people to pimp their private data instead of defending and preserving it.
Nevertheless, Yang continues to push for relevant legislation to tackle the issue. The proposed platform aims to encourage users to enquire about the number of platforms that profit from their data, using their most commonly used email address as the key to unlock this information. Users would then be remunerated for their data through PayPal.
Most thought leaders in the tech space such as Jaron Lanier like the thought of people getting paid for their private data. Facebook is currently leading the pack as a platform that’s already remunerating some of its users for the data that they share.
The tech giant introduced a Study App designed to help students monitor their social media use and improve productivity. The platform even offered to pay for users’ voice recordings as it aims to develop its speech recognition expertise.
What makes the Data Dividend Project from Yang so unique is the fact that it’s aimed at legislating this from the ground-up so that it becomes standard practice for big tech platforms to remunerate users for their private data.
