Data monetization is the act of creating revenue from customer data. Does not necessarily just mean money revenue, but also market value gains and new insight because of this data. For example, if you are online shopping and hours later you see an ad pop up on Youtube for that same store, that data of you shopping has been recorded and is then used to personalize ads more geared towards your interests. Although monetizing data has been very useful for companies to get a better understanding of their customers/users, many people argue the ethics behind it. Data privacy and liability issues are some of the main legal questions brought up.
We can see an example of improper data usage with the Facebook crisis. The Facebook crisis is when the company was called out for misusing the profile data of 50 million Facebook users. The Facebook crisis shows how social media platforms could potentially abuse their access to user information. After this exposure of Facebook’s misuse of data collection, only about 41% of consumers still trusted Facebook. Using data for purposes in which original disclosure would not have agreed or without their consent can ruin the relationship between a company and their consumers.
It is important that strict rules and regulations are put into place so companies, like Facebook, can not misuse data of their users. Companies must make sure original consent is known and understood and consent agreements are updated whenever there is a change in data collection. The integrity and security of data must be protected throughout the data monetization process. Companies should strive for using the least amount of data necessary for a specific application and avoid using personally identifiable data. A disclosure policy about what information is shared with advertisers and how it is monetized is now necessary for Facebook to recover user trust and is what other companies should put into place to avoid legal issues and ethically respect their consumers.
Jessie, interesting post! I thought that you captured the essence behind why companies need to be held accountable. Data collection is a very complex issue, simply because the legal system has yet to catch up with technology, which has advanced at a exponential rate. Privacy laws on technology exist, but there are so many ways to collect data in a way that does not break the letter of the law, but does break the spirit of the law. Companies like Facebook and Google make billions off of data monetization, it's one of their main revenue streams. They are unwilling to change their ways, too, and thus the issue exists. You were absolutely right when you titled your post with "Ethics", because at heart, it is an issue of what companies and corporations should or should not do, not what they can or cannot do. They should protect consumer's privacy and be transparent, but they want to make money. The future was certainly lead to more legislation and social norms that force the companies to change, but for now, the issue persists. Once again, great post!
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