Thread by @ideafaktory

THE NEW ERA OF DATA INEQUALITY

"Data wants to be free."

...is a common but silly trope.

Data was briefly liberated by bad decisions of analog companies navigating the .com boom.

Now, #data returns to its native protected state. (And not for the best.)

A thread...

First let's start with data itself. It has no ambitions or aspirations. It doesn't want to go to college or have a baby by age 30. Data's "desires" are those of its creators, purveyors & consumers.

https://twitter.com/ideafaktory/status/996490491997966337

Offline, there are few private sector examples of free information because of friction & cost.

Even online, most "free" data is used to sell something.

"Free" services sell our data or monetize our attention.

And Wikipedia relies on patronage by people & companies.

This mainly leaves hobbyists, who love to share but are themselves monetized by their playpens, like Quora, Reddit & Yelp.

A few exist on specialized forums, thinly trafficked blogs or academic sites. The good stuff has been firewalled or will be soon.

It's obvious why people want to keep data private, especially financial or health records.

Companies have trade secrets, negotiating leverage, strategic interests & revenue streams to protect.

Countries have their interests too...

https://twitter.com/ideafaktory/status/996145832624836608

So it's not surprising countries are creating internet silos, media is moving behind paywalls, and individuals are charging for consistent creative output. The free era was never real or sustainable.

However...

We're quickly moving into a new era of #DataInequality, where class determines access.

Those who can buy their way into greater privacy (iPhones, paid email, cloud storage), will. They'll also access better info behind paywalls.

Others must rely on "free" or make hard choices.

The good news is digital goods are relatively cheap & get cheaper to host & distribute each year. This should make many affordable enough.

The real challenge is less about the cost of access or privacy, but the converse, the incentive to extract data from others.

As data reliance grows, its aggregate value rises to outsiders.

Credit scores, blackmail, firing people, launch codes, energy grid, autonomous cars, crypto wealth, Robocops, vaccine formulas & more.

Our laws, citizens & defenses are ill prepared.

So the real #DataInequality will come not from access to data, but insulation from the impact of breeches, which are inevitable. Some will be better equipped to survive than others. This is our challenge.

/END

More on this soon in future newsletters. stevefaktor.com/newsletter

If there were a fiduciary test for any "free" service or information, most providers would fail spectacularly.

https://twitter.com/DeItaone/status/1382751693155274755