Freedom Needs a Reboot

The 4th of July is the most important holiday in the US. People invite friends and family for BBQ to celebrate the declaration of independence from the British monarchy. Independence Day marks the most important day for the "land of the free".

However, our individual freedom and privacy is long gone. 'Surveillance capitalism' in the US has lead to point where data is used against us. Many business models in the online world today are truly a scam based on uninformed consumers who put undue trust in companies and willingly accept one-sided terms of use that only lawyers can understand. Few people comprehend the true implications of a simple act such as uploading a picture or providing access to contact information in our address book. And when services ask for our phone numbers to 'secure our account' their real concern is not at all about our security. It all ends up in a massive honeypot of our personal data. But even for those of us that are concerned about data breaches and the related personal risks to our identity and data being stolen, there is very little we can do to prevent it. Data about us is being collected and used, shared and sold in a virtually uncontrolled fashion. By assembling data from across sources, individual profiles are constructed that create an amazing - or rather shocking - view into our personalities, financial health, personal well being, aspirations and most intimate problems. These profiles can and will also be used to algorithmically shape our political views and electoral decisions. Political parties are known to be amongst some of the best advertising customers for social media companies, but the real problem starts when foreign actors and bots start to meddle with elections and leverage the echo chamber of algorithmic newsfeed to divide our society.

Whenever a single actor has too much power, the consequences are dire. What started with the British monarch has lead us to a handful of companies that lured us into their services based on the promise of a better world and 'free' services. Today we find ourselves in a world where content creators and journalism at large is struggling as a handful of players control consumer access and monetize their work through advertising. Quasi monopolies control the bulk of data and the most important services on the web. And whoever controls the data will also control artificial intelligence. The web has become centralized. "The winner takes it all" leads to a few winners and many losers, including the consumers themselves. Our behaviors are manipulated, often without us realizing. Whoever controls the algorithm that determines search results or determines the newsfeed has incredible powers. A single tweak to algorithms can reshape opinions or put companies that rely on online advertising out of business. Too much power in the hands of a few is bad. It is bad for us as citizens and consumers, our economies, our societies and our democracies at large. Last but not least, a world in which few players exert power over markets stifles competition and is bad for innovation.

Voices that call for a break up of platform monopolies and federal regulations similar to the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 become louder. Privacy and the right to own and control our digital identities and personal data should be a human right. Laws and regulations are important aspects to protect consumers and to create a level playing field for all. Businesses need to not only respect the law, but also establish rules and guidelines on the ethical use of data. Educating consumers regarding their rights and responsibilities as a digital citizen and responsible consumer are equally important. But ultimately, technology innovations and new business models enabled by cryptography, distributed ledger technologies and distributed artificial intelligence can help change the rules of the game and lead us into a better future. One of my key areas of interest have been self-sovereign identities, data sovereignty and the question of how we can harness the value of data in a responsible way. How we can help companies at risk of becoming marginalized by platform players to change the rules of the game in their favor? Some of you that I have discussed this matter with years ago might have considered it unorthodox and crazy thinking or maybe visionary at best. Today, this subject is no longer maverick thinking. It is an important issue that we all need to address at our companies and in our personal lives as consumers and as citizens. Remember, it is the "Home of the free, because of the brave."

Let's make today 'Digital Independence Day' and work towards a future where we regain our digital freedom. Let's all work towards a future where we have ownership over our digital identity and take back control over our data and privacy. In the near future I will share my thoughts on how we can accomplish this vision. But for now, lets celebrate our freedom on this 4th of July 2019. May I suggest you now switch off your computing device and focus on spending time with friends and family or alternatively freshen up on George Orwell's '1984'. Enjoy the 4th of July!