Over the past few years, there’s been a massive cultural and legal shift in the way consumers view and secure their personal data online. As of May 2018, the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) allows European consumers more “ownership” of their data and the ability to remove that data from marketing systems.
Marketers leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) tools might be especially impacted by users hesitant to share their data, since AI models work much better when they incorporate larger, more representative data sets with personal information.
With 88% of U.S. internet users concerned about the privacy and security of their personal information on the web, and 67% of U.S. internet users advocating for GDPR-type privacy laws, it’s time to take a look at the impact of this shift on U.S. advertisers as well.
Key questions about data, privacy and mandating consumer “opt-ins” have been raised after the Cambridge Analytica scandal and other recent Facebook and Google breaches.
- What rights do we have as consumers?
- What data is protected under GDPR?
- Will AI models be limited if users don’t want to provide data?
I answer these questions and provide recommendations for marketers leveraging AI in the new age of data privacy and security in this piece for Intouch.