Do you view your app/website users' personal data as an asset or a liability?

Robert Thelen
1 reply
Data Privacy regulations are laws are becoming more stringent and can affect just about anyone. Ignoring them when designing an app can save some money and time at the onset, but will cost a lot later to "bolt on" solutions. Additionally, surveys have found 80% of Americans want more control over their personal data (Europeans have already had GDPR giving users certain rights, but the legal landscape is more piecemeal in the US).

Replies

Richard I Porter
I think this is a really important question. It seems like its becoming even more important over time. I think the visionaries and early adopters are getting there. Its interesting to me that even in tech, there are conservatives and skeptics on some trends and topics. This particular topic almost inverts the normal categorizations really. People who consider themselves as early adopters may be reticent about individual ownership privacy and security of end users data. It may strike them as reactionary, but I agree that its more likely to be revolutionary. If you think from first principles, why would an individual's information and data ever have belong to another company rather than to themselves? Maybe licensed to another company in return for services, but certainly that license should be revocable.