Noted security expert Schneier in his Dec'10 blog [1] said "We’re not Google’s customers; we’re Google’s product that they sell to their customers". How true this can be? Though Google is striving hard to recoup from their Gmail disappearing act [2], it has come to light how un-protected consumer (or product?) interests are in advertisement-based B2B business models where the primary users are not customers of the company making the money. They are very much products which are "sold" to "real" customers who actually pays for the service. Btw, this is not just about Google; this is about any similar B2B business models and there are plenty of them.
The business model is solid; the consumer protection acts are also fairly in shape. Perhaps the question is about a lack of mechanisms to protect the so called "products"? Well, being a capitalist I don’t like too many barriers in making money. But on the other hand, the "products" we are talking about are the pillar to this successful business model and protecting their interests are essential in sustaining this model. This is, hence, not a mere regulatory issue.
Today, our private data (personal info, location data etc) is more often shared without our knowledge. The decisions are very much in the hands of private companies/individuals which make me wonder how complex it gets as we go towards 2020 with multiple subscriptions, multiple devices, all interconnected and possibly displayed in social networks (e.g. Facebook). Hence, a good dialog between the regulatory bodies, technology companies, academia etc. is essential to stop this complex web turning to a crisis with possible misuse by not-so-ethical-hackers, terrorists and the like.
In short, for the regulators, there is a need to redefine the very definition of consumers and subsequently the consumer acts to safeguard the interest of 2020-consumers (or "products"). For the cloud providers, it’s essential to own up their failures regarding data security, privacy etc. of their so called "products" and proactively take adequate measures in this regard. It’s certainly insufficient to merely be sorry when things go out of hand. May be, the most successful cloud/B2B company of future is the one which provides this differentiation.
What do you think? Can the world survive being just B2B in 2020 ignoring the masses?
Some References:
[1] http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2010/12/security_in_202.html
[2] http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/gmails-disappearing-act-blame-the-storage-software-update/45445
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