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The blockchain, but for cars
So it seems like there’s a bitcoin or a blockchain for everything these days. Cars are next. Hewlett Packard is teaming up with Continental to create a blockchain-based platform for manufacturers to buy and sell data. Okay then. But…why the blockchain? Because the data can be used to inform real-time traffic warnings and other alerts. Ah. There it is.
THE TAKEAWAY:
“This approach gives data sovereignty to all participants in the ecosystem, while at the same time providing a highly efficient and secure procedure for monetising vehicle data…”
Australian energy retailers now impacted by Consumer Data Right
If you’ve been following the data news in Australia for a while, you may know about the Consumer Data Right – a proposed new way of allowing consumers to share their data with a bunch of different providers. Now, Australia’s competition regular says the energy industry will be impacted by the right in the first half of 2020. This is no longer theory – it’s happening.
THE TAKEAWAY:
“While there is likely to be commonality in the CDR rules that apply across sectors, there are a number of sector-specific considerations. In energy, one relevant consideration is that a consumer’s energy data may be held by a number of organisations and it may therefore be appropriate to impose CDR obligations on more than one entity in the energy sector.”
Singapore wants similar data portability too
Singapore is all up on data rights, and now the country is investigating the creation of a “data portability” rule. This would make it easier for consumers to get their data from a service provider, then take that data to another service. No re-keying, no data entry, etc. With Australia and Singapore now in the same camp, seems like portability is the cool new thing.
THE TAKEAWAY:
“Developed by the Personal Data Protection Commission of Singapore (PDPC) and the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS), the Data Portability Discussion Paper makes the case for how data portability can support business innovation while allowing consumers to have more control over their data.”
Buy-now-pay-later app in hot water over data
Oooo, more Australian data drama. Afterpay, a company that lets consumers split up retail payments with instalments, is now saying it wants to do more with user data. This is in response to the government, which recently said the company wouldn’t have to abide by specific credit laws – but it warned the business it needs to better consider consumers’ credit histories.
With Australian open banking on the horizon, this is a timely shift in tone.
THE TAKEAWAY:
“The prospect of Afterpay harnessing more data about customers through open banking suggests its algorithms, which decide which customers and transactions to approve, may be tweaked to take account of broader spending data.”
Australia and New Zealand team up over open banking
Oh, speaking of open banking. Now New Zealand wants in on the action. The prime ministers of each nation released a joint statement saying NZ could at least join as an observer to how open banking is implemented in Australia. This isn’t just so NZ can be nosy – the scheme could help business between the two countries.
THE TAKEAWAY:
“To move forward with this proposal, the report says governments would need to include New Zealand representatives in the open banking working groups in Australia. The expected benefit would be improved trans-Tasman banking services and growth in the fintech sector.”
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! Email us anytime at enquiries@datarepublic.com!
Until next week,
Team Data Republic