2020 Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang may not be at the top of the race when it comes to polling (Politico currently has him ranked as the 7th most-popular Democratic contender), but his policies, including support for universal basic income, have made him popular among a subset of young, liberal-leaning, tech-savvy voters. Yang’s latest proposal, too, is sure to strike a chord with them.
The presidential candidate published his latest policy proposal today: to treat data as a property right. Announcing the proposal on his website, Yang lamented how our data is collected, used, and abused by companies, often with little awareness or consent from us. “This needs to stop,” Yang says. “Data generated by each individual needs to be owned by them, with certain rights conveyed that will allow them to know how it’s used and protect it.”
The right to be informed as to what data will be collected, and how it will be used
The right to opt out of data collection or sharing
The right to be told if a website has data on you, and what that data is
The right to be forgotten; to have all data related to you deleted upon request
The right to be informed if ownership of your data changes hands
The right to be informed of any data breaches including your information in a timely manner
The right to download all data in a standardized format to port to another platform
The fourth point is notable because it seems to suggest Yang wants the same “right to be forgotten” laws that Europe currently offers. That’s something tech giants like Google have litigated vigorously. And you can be sure that many tech giants would lobby just as vigorously against some of his other “data as property” proposals.
Still, it’s refreshing to see a candidate so clearly outline his digital data policies. Whether that will help push him higher in the polls remains to be seen.
Dhoof on October 1st, 2019 at 17:10 UTC »
Unless I'm mistaken or misunderstand what the author means by "published", this article is inaccurate. Yang has had the data as property proposal on his campaign website, and mentioned in some interviews etc; for some time now.
xwing_n_it on October 1st, 2019 at 17:09 UTC »
We need something like a new bill of rights for the electronic age
Ensure Fourth Amendment protections apply to all digital communications
Restrict electronic public surveillance and retention of data by the government obtained by electronic means in public.
Restrict government access to public electronic surveillance data created by private entities based on Fourth Amendment limits: by warrant only
If the Founders could have anticipated the way we communicate today they would certainly have included electronic data in "papers and effects."
And they also could not have anticipated the ease with which government can now collect data electronically and through public surveillance on millions and millions of people, cost-effectively. While there can be no expectation of privacy in a public space, there is something fundamentally different about your activities in public being recorded, and stored for an indefinite period, without any suspicion of wrongdoing. That should be addressed in law.
edw2178311 on October 1st, 2019 at 16:49 UTC »
data is worth more than oil