Ask HN: Who will 'own' my data in the future?

1 points by ahussain 13y ago ↗ HN

1) The NSA scandal. Large corporations cannot be trusted to protect an individual's private data. 2) As individuals we are producing more data than we ever have done.

How do we reconcile these two facts?

At the moment, the NSA can listen in on your phone calls, watch your internet activity, and piece together a version of your life. However, in 20-50 years time, when even more of our lives are lived digitally/online, what do you think will become of private data? Will the NSA start looking into people's refrigerators, checking if people's windows are open, and monitoring who left the front door unlocked?

What does HN forecast will be the next big breakthrough that allows people to keep their private data private? I'm thinking some kind of protocol which ensures that all personal data is 'owned' by the person it is personal to. Then, if facebook wants to run a user specific ad by you, they have to ask explicitly to see your data. They wouldn't be able to keep a store of your data in their datacenters. Thoughts?

3 comments

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cup 13y ago ↗

I'll be facetious when I say this but the next big thing might be common sense and the realisation that once you release data ino the open (i.e onto the internet), you lose control of who access it and whats done with it.

ahussain 13y ago ↗

But that also means placing massive limitations on what the internet can do.

What do you mean? The internet will still be able to execute the same functions the only difference is that users will be less likely to release their private information with as much trust.

Unless I misunderstood your point.