The last stand: Will data protection become antisocial?
Do you still have an overview of how many companies have written you about your data and the GDPR? No? Neither do we! We are currently experiencing the last stand of the old guard of data protection. In his trend analysis, which appear in English today, Sven Gábor Jánszky explains this "last stand," why data protection is ultimately antisocial, and why a different approach to handling our data will make our world a more livable place. Follow Sven Jánszky's reckoning with cookie-cutter data protection.
Now that we have the power over our data, are we finally free?
With Europe's new GDPR data protection law, which came into effect on May 25, consumers now all have much more power over their data and can (in theory at least) view or change them at any time. Take a first look and you will see emancipation from the big companies; look a bit more closely at the details and you'll find a reactionary ethics and future picture which bases itself on the thinking of the 60s generation. And one which is no longer compatible with today's understanding of machine learning, data analysis, and AI technologies, much less the demands of the coming years.
No. This "power" only serves as a prison.
Instead of preserving self-determination, freedom, and ultimately life, the new data protection law inhibits innovation, real-world problem solving, and even health care. The new technologies that promise to revolutionize human life as we know it are utterly reliant on having access to enough data to support us. This reverses the concept of data protection: We don't need to protect our data, but to make it possible for our data to protect us! This will take us from meaningless protectionism to data that protects.
The future is shaped by probabilities, not fears!
We consider it probable that we will see a move to data sharing regulation appear in the post-GDPR world faster than we assume today. This approach will let us keep control over our data, only with the difference that every person will be able to personally decide the limits of their sphere of privacy - and so become part of a community that will overcome the challenges of the future with the full capabilities of modern technology.
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