Consumers Would Sell Their Data, Online Privacy For Monthly Fee

Data Privacy

A study of how consumers in different nations value their personal data found that German users of Facebook would want the company to pay them roughly $8 a month for providing their contact data. Users in the United States, however, reportedly would only ask for $3.50, Reuters reported.

The Technology Policy Institute (TPI) study is the first that aims to define the value of online privacy and information. It took a look at how much privacy is valued in six nations as it examined the routines of consumers in Germany, the U.S., Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Columbia.

“Differences in how much people value privacy of different data types across countries suggests that people in some places may prefer weaker rules while people in other places might prefer stronger rules,” said TPI President and Senior Fellow Scott Wallsten.

The study determined that Germans want more payment for allowing tech platforms to share data with other parties and American consumers came after.

The study found a tech platform would need to pay consumers $8.44 a month to share their bank balance information, $6.05 to look at the texts of a person, $5.80 to share data on cash withdrawals, and $7.56 to share fingerprint data. Consumers, however, wanted payment of just $1.82 monthly to share location data and nothing to receive ads through text message.

In separate news, California has passed the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), a broad law that makes firms tell customers about the information they collect about them and to allow them to opt out of those practices.

In early January, the final details of the legislation were being worked out, and many firms were unsure exactly what they needed to do to be compliant. Many startups were reportedly competing for a $55 billion boom that firms in the state are expected to spend to become compliant.