Andrew Yang wants you to get paid. First, when the entrepreneur turned politician was running for President he suggested a Universal Basic Income program (what he referred to as a Freedom Dividend) that would pay citizens $1,000 a month no questions asked. A move that would either supplement their incomes and kick start the economy or free them up to pursue their creative passions instead of having to work for The Man while doing something that didn’t suit them.
At the very least it was a clever marketing ploy to get people to join the Yang Gang. But now he wants to go a step further, pushing tech companies like Google and Facebook to pay people for the right to use their data instead of just profiting off of it themselves. In fact, if he gets his way we’ll soon all have a Data Dividend coming our way.
As his website Data Dividend Project puts it:
“Every day, people are generating data simply by going about the business of living in an ever connected and digital world. Unbeknownst to most people, technology companies are tracking their every move online, extracting this data, and then buying and selling it for big money. The sale and resale of consumer data is called data brokering, which is itself a $200 billion industry.
For example, technology companies can extract location data from your mobile phone and sell it to advertisers who can then turn around and post local ads to you in real time. Until recently, the data collector – in this case, the technology company – was deemed to own the data. As the owner, the technology company could sell that data and profit handsomely. Meanwhile, you generated the data but received no share of those profits. DDP plans to change that.
Until this year, you, as the American consumer, had little recourse against technology companies who were profiting off your data without your consent or knowledge. Now, under the CCPA, Californians are endowed with a collection of unalienable data rights: the right to know what information is being collected on you, the right to delete that information, and the right to opt-out from technology companies collecting your data. These rights, however, are ignored and abused by technology companies. And unfortunately, individual consumers don’t have the leverage to be able to go up against these companies. That’s where DDP comes in.
DDP is building a movement of Americans who are fed up with technology companies taking advantage of them and who have collectively decided to take a stand. By signing up with DDP, you give us the ability to collectively advocate for your data rights and your right to be compensated for the use of YOUR data, which is YOUR property. With a critical mass of Californians – and eventually, all Americans – demanding their fair share, technology companies will no longer be able to get away with hoarding the gains made off your data.
Individually, we’re powerless to stand up to big technology companies. Together, however, we can regain what is rightfully ours. Join the movement.”
To join the movement you’d just have to complete a simple form on their website to sign up. It took me less than two minutes to complete. And while it may be a while before I see any money, especially since I don’t live in California, it’s still nice to know that progress is being made and that we’re on the right path towards establishing better standards of practice and eventually even an entire Digital Bill of Rights.
Is Andrew Yang’s Data Dividend the Greatest Idea Ever?
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