One Spotify to rule us all…
According to this post on TechCrunch, startups like Spotify that depend on premium licensed content have a fundamental problem: If they succeed, the content owners will jack up their licensing fees. But I think there is another problem, that affects us users in a big way, and that will essentially turn Spotify (or any other startup that happens to be even more succesful) into a monopoly.
Privacy protection as enabling technology.
Privacy is often seen as a barrier to innovation. It’s seen as something one has to comply to, instead of as an opportunity to create new business. It wasn’t that long ago that security was viewed the same way: security measures were just considered a nuisance that made it impossible to get your job done efficiently. Companies were reluctant to invest in proper security. Nowadays, security is seen more and more as an enabler. Without proper security, Internet banking and e-commerce are simply impossible, while both create a steady revenue, either by cutting operation cost or by increasing sales. Seen in this light, investing in security is a no-brainer.
The question is: can we see privacy protection as an enabler too? What kind of business will become possible if proper privacy protection is possible? Or, turning the question around: what kind of business opportunities fail to materialise because of privacy problems. I think there are several.
An unexpected privacy risk of anonymous credentials
Anonymous credentials are a privacy enhancing technology that allow you to prove certain properties about yourself, without revealing your full identity. Examples are showing your age, your gender, whether you are a member of a certain group, or your nationality, among others. Privacy advocates are advocating the widespread use of such technology. However, if a worldwide infrastructure for anonymous credentials would exist, this would actually create a funny privacy problem.
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Participatory sensing / participatory surveillance
At the Computers, Privacy & Data Protection (CPDP 2012) conference I learned about a new concept: participatory sensing, also known as participatory surveillance.
Vrij gebruik van BSN onafwendbaar. Leg daarom koppelen bestanden aan banden.
Het BTW-nummer voor eenmanszaken is gelijk aan het burgerservicenummer. Langzaam maar zeker wordt het BSN voor steeds meer (niet publieke) zaken gebruikt. Discussie over het beperkt gebruik van BSN is dus echt een achterhoedegevecht. De privacy beschermde dat toch al niet meer. Daar hebben we andere regels voor nodig, die het koppelen van bestanden (zoals de Gemeente Groningen die in 2009 het gebruik van ondergrondse huisvuilcontainers als middel voor het opsporen van bijstandsfraude heeft gebruikt) aan banden legt.
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