If Privacy Is Dead, Some Argue People Should Sell Their Own Data

If privacy is truly a thing of the past, then people should at least profit off their own personal information, says data rights advocate Brittany Kaiser. “The digital assets that you produce every day are your own human value. You should be able to own them and you should be able to share in the monetization of that.” It’s a perspective shared by an increasing number of online users around the world, who’re waking up to the fact that Facebook and Google’s online empires are built on data they signed away without compensation. The question is how. From a personal perspective, real ownership and control of data means having all your information -- from political leanings and product preferences to medical records -- in one place, so people can decide who gets to access it and on what terms. That could mean anything from selling it to granting limited use in exchange for a free service (such as Facebook) -- or keeping it completely private.