Big Tech may be forced to put a price on your data

WASHINGTON: How much is your data worth to companies like Google and Facebook? That’s the question US senators Mark Warner and Josh Hawley want answered by introducing a bill on Monday that, if successful, would require big tech companies to disclose to individual users the value of their information.

‘Axios on HBO’ first revealed the planned legislation, which will be titled the ‘Designing Accounting Safeguards to Help Broaden Oversight and Regulations on Data Act’, which has been given the acronym DASHBOARD. In short, it would mean users of some of the biggest social media and search platforms on the internet would receive a report every 90 days on the types of information collected by the firms, and how much it is worth to them.

Putting a dollar figure on how much people’s data is worth is unlikely to be straightforward for the companies involved and the bill could provoke opposition. Warner told Axios that data could be worth around $5 a-month, per user, but other estimates peg this figure higher.