Leading brands support customers in directing their own data privacy
Data mining has become a concern for everyone with an online presence. So how can advertisers get the data they rely on while maintaining trust among people?
Hearts & Science CEO, Erin Matts, joined Matt Rivitz (Founder of Sleeping Giant) and Conrad Fritzsch (Head of New Agency Model, Daimler) at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity to weigh in on the steps being taken by tech companies, advertisers, governments and even individuals to regulate data privacy. Here’s what they had to say:
Bridging the regulation gap
Where breaches and general misuse of data are creating a bad name for data mining, many are asking if customer data can be used for good.
In an interview with Erin Matts at Cannes, she shared her optimism about making data mining non-controversial. “It can be possible. I think it will require a bit of oversight and some regulation. In the US, that has been the challenge. We’re seeing a deglobalization of the internet … and the big question will be what the US actually does about data mining.”
Similarly, Matt Rivitz believes that trust in data mining can become non-controversial, but that it starts with the ability for consumers to control their own data.
“Companies that allow consumers to [control their own data] moving forward will succeed… we all want to know our data is being used in the right way.”
Whether it’s spearheaded by government regulation or empowering brands, there is a shift that needs to be made in how data is handled.
Some companies are starting to take matters into their own hands. They are giving consumers more of a choice in how their data is being used. Erin Matts says, “Google is giving consumers a choice, and I believe that is the right way to progress. We need to give them the power; to give them the choice.”
The future of data regulation
While data has outpaced regulation, some consumers are engaging in more self-regulation to protect themselves.
If brands and governments aren’t putting their best interests at heart, consumers are being more careful on how they engage with technology—whether that’s the time spent on their phones or an increased awareness of their own data destiny.
We’re at a major crossroads on data privacy today, and people need to hold brands and governments accountable. Matt Rivitz shares, “[Platforms] got us into this mess. We can’t rely on them to get us out.”
Erin Matts reminds us, “The internet has made us able to connect more than ever before. It’s done so much good but there are some bad apples.
At the end of the day it’s about connecting human beings and that’s a good thing, we just need to continue along that path and control for some of the bad things.“
Individuals, brands and governments around the world will need to come together for us to see meaningful changes in how mainstream data privacy evolves.
