Most people in the United States don’t want their digital data used to control the spread of COVID-19, a new study found. More than half of the people in the study remained wary of sharing their data in different scenarios, including a smart thermometer company sharing information with public health officials, or using the Google and Apple exposure notification app to track infections.
That’s in alignment with the new bill from senior Senators, reintroducing the Social Media Privacy Protection and Consumer Rights Act. This would force sites to grant users greater control over their data, and opt out of data collection and tracking.
Today seems to be about opportunities – this one is just more evidence that there IS a space for IT services providers to consult about how companies use and manage data. Not how they back it up, but audits of what is collected, why it’s collected, and making privacy and data management a feature and not an expense. There’s plenty of evidence that it’s wanted. So savvy operators will take advantage of it.