This Week in Data – August 10

The European Commission threatens US data sharing

Geez, this one’s a bit rough. The EU says it’s going to stop American businesses from accessing critical user data unless they comply with existing “Privacy Shield” rules. Fair enough, right? The EU says America hasn’t been living up to its share of the bargain.

THE TAKEAWAY:

“The warning comes at a period of increasing tensions between the US and its European allies, with the Trump administration criticizing countries like Germany and France, and failing to appoint dedicated staff to address data privacy complaints from EU citizens.”

Facebook wants your banking data

Probably not the best timing. The social network wants users’ financial information to offer new services through Messenger, but some aren’t having it. Given everything that’s happened with Facebook in the past few months, you can’t really blame them for being wary.

THE TAKEAWAY:

“Facebook already has mountains of information about our social networks, physical movements, and activity online. Do we really want to give Facebook greater insight into our finances and purchases, too?”

Forget your data – start thinking more about context

We can fall into the trap of just using data for everything. But without people or context, according to this comprehensive piece in the AFR, everything falls apart.

Correlation, causation, statistics and probability are essential tools – and if you’re dealing with numbers, this piece makes a good argument for growing the discerning bone in your body.

THE TAKEAWAY:

“You need to be able to figure out whether your promotion made customers move from one brand to another, or whether you were simply giving a discount to people already loyal to the promoted brand. If you can’t disentangle the two, you will not spend your marketing money effectively.”

Aussies still wary over open banking

The industry is keen, but the customers? Not so much, apparently. An Accenture survey has found at least 80% of respondents are unaware of a new data sharing program, and two-thirds say they won’t share data with non-bank third parties. Younger people are keen, though: Gen Z and Y are 4.5 times more willing to share their info.

THE TAKEAWAY:

“The research found the biggest obstacles centered around privacy and security concerns. What happens if someone hacks into your account and steals all your information? And why would you possibly want to share this information anyway?”

Nine takes on Facebook and Google

They’re pretty confident, too. The network says its targeted ad platform will help advertisers more accurately locate the right segments through its 9Now video platform. The argument here is that while Facebook and Google offer massive scale, they don’t have great content. Nine is aiming to change that.

THE TAKEAWAY:

“What the Nine user ID allows us is to offer a similar targeting solution to Google and Facebook. But with far more transparency in professionally produced brand safe environments across every screen in the house, including the largest, and this is important, the connected TV.”

Well, that’s our wrap for this week. Thanks for reading – we hope you found it entertaining and informational. We’d love to hear your thoughts on these articles and anything else data related! Contact us anytime! 

Until next week,

Team Data Republic

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