Who Is The Master Of Personal Data And Why Is It Important To Master It

Ilustrasi (Ilham Amin / VOI)

The article "We are Personal Data for Sale and Purchase" has brought the understanding that we have been unconsciously used for the benefit of a handful of parties. It is impossible to avoid this bad luck amidst the attachment to digital activities. In this article, we will see who controls data and why it is important to control personal data. This is a continuation of VOI's signature Series, "No Privacy for Personal Data".

The asymmetric war between the United States (US) and China over personal data has suddenly become so open. US President Donald Trump has publicly banned the Chinese-made video-sharing app TikTok. Trump is worried that the ByteDance application will become a tool for China to collect personal data of US citizens to supply to the Chinese Communist Party.

This time, Trump's worries did not seem paranoid. Japan, India and Australia have taken the same steps. Their crowd blocked TikTok. And for the US, that concern is justified. In just one month, the number of active TikTok users in the US reached 80 million people.

TikTok responded to this resistance. This week TikTok announced to users and regulators that it is ready to impose a high level of transparency, including giving permission to those who wish to check their algorithms.

"We are not political. We do not accept political advertising and have no agenda. Our goal is to continue to be a vibrant and dynamic platform for everyone to enjoy. TikTok has become the latest target (of politicization). But we are not the enemy," said TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer , quoted by the BBC, Wednesday, August 5.

Illustrations (Visuals / Unsplash)

Cybersecurity expert Alfons Tanujaya gives his view on this situation. Maybe it's true that TikTok collects our personal data. However, technically speaking, TikTok doesn't collect any more of our personal data than the US tech giant Google. And regarding the deposit into the Chinese Communist Party, it certainly requires a lot of valid proof.

"We have to admit that the defacto that controls the application is the US. And if I see TikTok does not retrieve more data than other applications. For example Googlemaps ... Google, you are using your Android cellphone alone under Google control, Alfons said to VOI, Monday, August 5.

That Google took

Then, what can Google collect from our daily digital activities? The leak of this answer is that Google may have collected more of our personal data at a rate we may never have realized.

Google's algorithm records every search we make, monitors the YouTube videos we watch, and records our movements. Every location we travel that we do, Google will know and record it, showing which route patterns we travel the most, how long we stay in a place, even when we never open the application.

This is a reality we need to face, although according to CNET, Google has improved the way it stores and manages its user data. Google accounts registered as of June 2020 are said to be able to automatically delete users' personal data. That, too, only after 18 months of use. Meanwhile, Google account users before June, which amounted to 1.5 billion Gmail users or 2.5 billion Android users, their data will be permanently embedded on Google's servers, unless the user wants to delete it.

There is a lot of data that Google can get. Among them, our name, date of birth, gender, email address, digital account passwords, to telephone numbers. Google can even identify our faces. Some of it is listed as public information.

Photo illustration (Nathana Reboucas / Unsplash)

What Google shares with the public about us can be checked by visiting the user's Google account page. When you get there, find the menu bar and select "Personal Info". On that page you can change or delete your name, profile photo, date of birth, gender, password, any other email address you have and your cell phone number. Then, if you want to see what information is being shared with the public, click "Go to About me".

Google can also record data on online activities, such as when we are surfing on search engines or when we are watching YouTube videos. If we are aware of the security of data but still want Google services to personalize the results of its services such as search engines, it is advisable to set the data so that it is deleted automatically after three months.

If not, feel free to wipe all data and set Google to stop tracking. Indeed, for most of the day-to-day things we do with Google there won't be any difference. However, if used regularly, Google can find out all our habits. Google's algorithm can even find out what we want, from a vacation destination to our favorite football club.

And the accuracy of Google knowing where we are can be terrifying, even when we are doing nothing to our phones. When you log into Google Maps on a mobile device, Google's eye is watching your every move.

Even if we have set Google not to track our online or offline activities, it does not mean that Google's access to our personal data has been completely cut off. In fact, Google can still track our physical location even if we turn off location services. Google can still access our data, the information they collect from Wi-Fi networks and other wireless signals connected to our devices. Even Google doesn't have to wait for us to log in first to be able to track us down.

Mastering data is controlling money

Today, in the midst of high dependence on human digital activities, personal data is the most valuable commodity on earth, even beating oil. This is evident from the last record of the world's largest stock exchange, Wall Street. In July, US technology company Apple officially overtook Saudi Arabian oil company Aramco as the most valuable company in the world.

Citing Reuters, Apple shares in the report ended at 425.04 US dollars with a market capitalization of 1.82 trillion US dollars in trading on Wall Street. This is a big leap for Apple since March 13, 2020. Meanwhile, Aramco, which has become the most valuable company since going public last year, recorded a market capitalization of 1.76 trillion US dollars.

"The shift in the world that is increasingly digital causes the value of data to increase. Data is the most valuable commodity on earth today. In the past, black gold, oil. Now, the big ten (on Wall Street) is the average IT company. Oil companies are displaced. So, defacto, data is the most valuable commodity, "said cybersecurity expert Alfons Tanujaya.

And when it comes to the future, at least in the period of months, the acceleration of technology companies is predicted to get even crazier. The acceleration will automatically increase the price of personal data. The COVID-19 pandemic is driving tremendous penetration in digital business sectors, especially e-commerce.

"Without COVID-19 alone, data becomes the most valuable commodity. With COVID 19, (the value of data) accelerates tremendously. E-commerce penetration is even more powerful. WFH people. This makes the data that supports the e-commerce business the most valuable commodity again," said Alfons .

Photo illustration (Bryan Angelo / Unsplash)

This is also evidenced by the note made by Amazon on Wall Street. The online retail market provider and cloud computing service provider managed to balloon more than US $ 90 billion. Jeff Bezos' company inscribed an additional capitalization value of US $ 5 billion on Thursday, April 30.

Capital market observer, Hans Kwee, presents his view of data as money. According to him, technology companies such as Apple and Amazon have such large databases. In the realm of the business market, control of personal data is important.

"This data is practically done by Facebook, Google, Twitter, it maps people's personal data. What is their hobby. After the data is available, it becomes expensive. Because we can sell effectively," said Hans, contacted by VOI, Wednesday, 8 August.

"So, economically, I want to sell goods. I have a product called a cellphone. Now, if I advertise, everyone sees that it is useless because what I segment is not people. So personal data is what streamlines sales," he added.

Alfons Tanujaya complements. According to him, data has a central position as a commodity. However, what should be noted is the monetization scheme. Data managers are generally prohibited from selling raw data - names, personal identities, telephone numbers, and so on.

Monetization, said Alfons, can only be done by managing the data first. So, when the times are more advanced and avoiding digital activities is increasingly impossible, plus the real fact that data is central in generating profits, regulation becomes important.

Follow the Writing of this edition of Series: No Privacy for Personal Data