DSGVO: Do you agree?

The Internet user must be asked to use his data. He is not yet sovereign.

DSGVO: Do you agree?

Our opinion counts. All of a sudden we are asked for approval as an Internet user. Wher we subscribe to a newsletter or buy online, digital vendors ask us to agree on how to handle our data.

Pragmatic users muck out and simply refuse to answer those of whom y no longer want to be bored. Ors feel overwhelmed by requests. But many do not know that re is a real European innovation performance behind it: basic Data Protection regulation, short DSGVO.

For two years now, new law has been with uncool name, starting this Friday. What Europeans sell so badly is reason why greats of Silicon Valley first look at Old world. You may be able to use algorithms, but Europe may have privacy.

Because local politics barely communicated epochal chance to set a kind of world standard for dealing with personal data, uncertainty is now great. Consumers who are supposed to agree everywhere. For small businesses that need to drive a huge effort to ask ir customers all se questions. And even lawyers, because regulation must be filled with life in coming years.

It is not easy to cultivate wildly grown data. In future, customer must comply with information about him being collected as a person or even passed on to third parties. Providers must disclose what y know about him, and delete everything if y wish. And if he wants to take data to anor provider, such as from one online store to next, n he should get it on way as a package.

This article comes from time No. 22/2018. Here you can read entire output.

All of this can create a fairer data universe, and it's time for that. The digital economy has long been penetrating large parts of life. Data is new oil, fuel for continually learning algorithms. And y are created by all of us when we look for something online, buy it, share it with ors, or just watch pictures and videos.

People should refore also be sovereign remedial of ir data – or better: become! Today, internet is often dominated by right of fittest, and it is mainly digital corporations that have become most valuable companies in human history with help of user data.

In order to achieve a real balance, new European law is a beginning. A regulation on protection of privacy should soon follow. But n it would have to go on with a new "data deal". Internet companies can still tell ir users: eir you agree or you will not receive a good service. This changes only when people put ir data in ir own vault and can determine without circumstance who is allowed to use this data for what and in what consideration. Not everyone can build such digital safes alone, that is only common, and politics must help.

The balance must also be true between Googles of this world and smaller companies. Media houses have just crossed search group. Google, which is so powerful in online advertising business, makes EU law more stringent than it itself, and de facto prescribes that and how y obtain approval from ir users for online ads. As a result, a concern that can also be heard in time publishing house, giant could end up becoming even more dominant in advertising market. For this Thursday, Google has invited to conversation.

One can see this: way to a new data deal is far. But only when people become sovereign data citizens in second, digital world, do y have more control over ir economic destiny in first, real world, too. That is why debate with Mark Zuckerberg is so important. Fortunately, MEPs argued that – in end, contentious – question round was publicly conducted with Facebook founder. Citizens should participate in struggle for ir digital future. And politics must stop doing as if it were just about paragraphs. It is one of great social tasks of our time.

You can find this article as an audio file in premium section at Www.zeit.de/audio

Date Of Update: 24 May 2018, 12:02
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