Can Blockchain Challenge 'FANG' Tech Giants For Control Over Our Data? Posted on : Mar 01 - 2018

We’ve been giving tech giants free rein over our data for far too long. It is genius on their part. They’ve created services that are so ubiquitous that we now use them without even really thinking about the consequences and trade-offs. Companies like Facebook and Google have done such fine jobs creating online experiences that people rely on them for all their digital needs.

All the while though they are actually building profiles about each one of us to feed into their advertising engines and make billions of dollars in the process. Big Brother is certainly watching you and I’m not talking about the TV reality game show syndicated internationally.

Just visit your Google Ads settings page and you would see how well Google has nailed your profile down is. Facebook also has something similar. Even Amazon has been carefully taking note of all your product views and purchases that the recommendations one sees can be pretty spot on.

Now if you have been using these services sufficiently enough, the results can be pretty downright creepy. And, given that some of these companies have recently expanded their omnichannel presences, there is little doubt that they will continue using these profiles - even for brick-and-mortar marketing.

It’s only recently that the campaign to reclaim control over personal data and promote privacy has gained significant traction. There are a couple of popular positions in relation to this.

One advises preventing these “centralized authorities” from getting data in the first place. Privacy browsers such as DuckDuckGo are gaining users year-on-year as increasing numbers of people have become more conscious about privacy.

Another position aims to control how user data gets monetized. Some are quite comfortable with sharing their data as long as they are compensated for it.

Blockchain can be an influential technology given either position. It - Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) - can provide both data security through encryption and the means to monetize data through smart contracts and cryptocurrencies.

Several blockchain projects are leveraging these capabilities to give users better utility of their data. Decentralized data marketplaces like Wibson empower data owners to securely monetize their information.

Elsewhere, Shping allows shoppers to be engaged directly by businesses rather than through profile-based ads displayed by intermediaries. BitClave is also building a new search engine that allows users to be incentivized when participating in search advertising.

If successful, such services could have the potential to challenge these tech giants’ continued dominance. But it won’t be without challenges along the way. View More