In today’s digitally inclined lifestyle, Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon (collectively known as GAFA) touch almost every aspect of our existence, harvesting vast amounts of data about their users in the process. And unlike European regulators, who have done more to protect consumer rights in dealing with GAFA (including slapping Google with a considerable €2,4bn fine in a recent antitrust case), US regulators have until now been reluctant to poke the bear. But is this about to change? The data harvesting issue is set to become even more contentious in future. If it was not apparent already, we are living through yet another gold rush. But this time it is data that is the coveted resource. Data is fuelling business and driving everything from planning, design and marketing to analytics. Plus, it is the foundation of mankind’s next giant leap to artificial intelligence (AI). Unlike previous gold rushes, figuring out who the gold belongs to is a big problem. Who owns your data? Tak...
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