The New York Times reports on one entrepreneur’s “data vault,” which aims to allow consumers to take control of their online identities. Reputation.com’s Michael Fertik’s data vault allows consumers to decide who has access to their data and to what extent in exchange for goods such as coupons. Participating companies receive data on those consumers, including which products or services interest them. Meanwhile, Verizon recently launched a “rewards program,” in which consumers allow the company to collect data from their phone in exchange for coupons. A new paper by the Future of Privacy Forum’s Jules Polonetsky, CIPP/US, and Omer Tene asserts that “consumers are unlikely to object” to data collection when the use of their personal data benefits their experience online. (Registration may be required to access this story.)
Full Story