There is a real need for corporations to endorse privacy management structures for their socio-technical systems, backed by strong regulatory policies, that better align with public values and sentiments about how firms should be handling raw personal data for their business gains while benefiting individuals equitably
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Information privacy is a complex construct that is context-dependent and driven by an imaginary control knob over-sharing and reuse. As for individual Internet consumers in the modern digital age, sharing information is often not a natural choice for them since sharing personal data (PD) is mandatory for getting access to basic day-to-day utilities, services, or products. Reciprocatively, the typical urban consumer's raw PD powered by modern AI is what drives the majority of the revenue of today's ecommerce firms. To cite an example, market data suggests that more than 95 percent of Meta's (erstwhile Facebook) revenue comes from advertising that solely relies on consumer PD. This business model can only be successful if the adverts are successful. In India, the digital advertising industry is projected to grow to approximately Rs 25K crore from around Rs 23K crore in 2021, with Google India and Meta India garnering combined ad revenues that are higher than that of the top 10 listed traditional media companies (Source: Indian Express).
[This article has been published with permission from IIM Calcutta. www.iimcal.ac.in Views expressed are personal.]