Everyday internet browsers, web users and emailers – we, the consumers – are the makers and creators of digital data from which Big Tech profits so enormously.
Every time we use the web or any App, we are creating data: a digital trail used to track us. Our movements across different websites are monitored and inspected by an army of algorithms, auditing a user’s probable interest across various products and ideas.
Having so uniquely determined these ‘insights’, Big Tech is able to sell this data to advertisers, who then encourage consumers to spend. This relationship between consumers and advertisers serves an integral economic function yet the manufacturers of the core commodity – data – have received no remuneration.
Despite the fundamental injustice of this status quo, it has survived for so long due to two mistruths. Firstly, consumers have been led to believe that individual data holds no personal value; secondly, that sharing data is an unavoidable part of using the Internet. On the latter, while we can certainly opt-out of certain trackers, Big Tech is aggressively forcing us to adopt them. For instance, if a user declines certain targeting preferences, they are often forced to reconfirm these choices every time they open the browser or until they eventually succumb. These two myths have become so ingrained in consumer conscience that it has enabled the rampant profiteering of consumer data with no reward.
Advertisers must share in this responsibility. They spend approximately £27 billion a year on digital marketing, the majority of which goes straight into the pockets of Big Tech. At its core, this is an investment made to encourage consumers to part with their money. And it is inescapable, for the digital revolution that swept the world in the 1990s and 2000s was so profound that life chances – the ability to get well-paid jobs, establish connections, and develop contacts – are directly linked to internet access and use. This has created an Orwellian nightmare in which we are forced to share our thoughts and data with the world’s largest companies, resulting in our increased expenditure.
Clearly, a major reset in the relationship between consumers, advertisers, and data is required. Consumers must be empowered to realise the intrinsic worth of their data and expect a fair exchange. Advertisers must stop propelling Big Tech’s continued looting of our data and change their objective from only selling to selling and rewarding. Ultimately, the persuasive efforts of advertisers must begin to provide benefits to consumers as well.
With the rise of direct-to-consumer marketing apps and platforms, such solutions are now more accessible than ever before. Advertisers who market via such platforms gain direct access to their intended audience. In return, platforms must leverage their position to generate high-value cash rewards for consumers in exchange for data access. Consumers can choose their preferred level of data exchange on a quid pro quo basis, meaning that the most active participants are able to maximise their rewards by driving a positive feedback loop of more relevant advertising.
Using such platforms, consumers can reclaim ownership of their data and receive fair compensation for it– both in terms of cash reward as a percentage of expenditure and by receiving exclusive access to more affordable deals. In such hard economic times, such solutions may prove to be a powerful incentive and buoyant boost to household incomes.
Perhaps most importantly, such platforms begin to shift the power balance in the relationship between data and advertising away from Big Tech and its armada of algorithms. By repossessing this precious commodity, consumers stand to benefit financially and make a mighty step towards a future where digital data is exchanged transparently and consensually.
