When I first set out to build Streamlytics over a year ago it was very clear to me that how we currently use the internet was changing. Over the past 30+ years service after service was launched under the guise of being free. As the business model of the internet evolved the idea of people using these services for “free” became just that, more of an idea than a reality.
While many of us don’t pay to use some of today’s most popular services in cash we are paying for it with our data. And, of the services that we do pay for in cash we’re paying a premium for them with our data. While paying for many of these services, in one way or another, with our data an important civil liberty has gotten lost. Our privacy.
Data breaches notwithstanding, consumers don’t even have access to their data from many of the largest companies in the world. This is why it’s so important for federal laws in the US to be passed that actually take consumers privacy, and what that means for all of us today in 2020, into consideration. Before we can think about owning our data, or selling our data, we have to do one important thing first. We have to actually get it into our possession.
That’s why we launched GetMyData.io. It’s a free service that takes you through the process of requesting your data from companies that aren’t already giving it to you. Once you request your data we help you track if a company has indeed provided you with your data; and finally, once you have it, we help you organize and store it. It’s a right, by law, for 39 million Californian’s to request their data under California Consumer Protection Act which goes into effect today, January 1, 2020. We encourage all consumers to use GetMyData to request copies of your data regardless of what state you live in because, quit simply, it’s one of your civil liberties.
