U.S. data policy-making efforts make certain assumptions about marketing. It’s as if there’s a sign coming, saying: “Data Is a Weapon.” But what if lawmakers instead assumed data was a force for good?
Certainly, when dealing with the European data protection community — who may seek 4 percent of your global profits — it is wise to be deferential, even praiseworthy.
Apple CEO Tim Cook, in his speech last week to European data commissioners that hearkens back to President Eisenhower’s warning in 1961 about the “military-industrial complex,” identified commercial data collection interests as a “data-industrial complex” that has “weaponized” the collection and monetization of data with great efficiency.
