This Week in Data – August 24

Canadian police want American data, please

If you’d be so kind. The Canadian police want more information to crack down on crimes ranging from cyberterrorism to child pornography, and beyond. The country’s police association says the new CLOUD agreement allows for the US to sign a deal, and it’s urgent – in one case Canadian police had to wait 14 months for relevant information. Geez.

THE TAKEAWAY:
“The “cumbersome and time-consuming nature” of the legal assistance process fails to meet the needs of investigations, the chiefs said in a background document accompanying their resolution.”

Australia banks and fintechs fight over customer data

Australia is at the center of this global debate over consumer data rights, with the advent of new open banking laws. Now, government industry advisors are having a bit of a tiff over how data is shared: should it happen within a banking environment, or within a fintech product?

THE TAKEAWAY:
“This bill is also important because it will govern how global technology giants like Google, Amazon and Facebook play in banking, energy or telecommunications.”

Banks – stop wasting data!

Speaking of banks and fintechs, American Banker points out that traditional financial institutions are losing ground to start-ups that leverage data more than ever before. (Obvs.) So why aren’t banks using the data they have? Good question: but they better come up with an answer quickly.

THE TAKEAWAY:
“One survey earlier this year found that nearly 70% of banking respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that they hold hidden value within their operational data and capabilities that have yet to be leveraged. Reaping such hidden value from data will require banks to catalog their full inventory of data assets…”

One more on open banking…it’s spreading

This whole concept is actually getting a huge amount of traction. As Pymnts.com highlights, companies in Europe and North America are now experimenting with new forms of data sharing. Canada too, where the federal budget even mentioned a push to an open financial system. It really seems the industry is hooked on this change now.

THE TAKEAWAY:
“Open banking is a work in progress. But the money is flowing and partnerships are forming, and that means a clearer picture of how that effort is developing will come soon enough.”

US Gov spends $800k to research blockchain

Ooo, it’s getting serious now. The National Science Foundation is spending the money for a project in San Diego, all about helping scientists share and quantify research data. This comes after a big global debate about scientists sharing data (after a Dropbox controversy), focused on making sure this data stays safe, anonymous and useful.

THE TAKEAWAY:
“The Open Science Chain is proposed to be a platform based on Distributed Ledger Technology which would allow researchers to easily access as well as verify the data collected through various scientific experiments.”

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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