In this episode №2, we talk to Steven S. Charlap, MD who is a trained surgeon and the CEO of Soap Health which is building conversational AI-powered patient and physician facing interface. Previously, Steven was the CEO of HealthDrive Corporation (the largest U.S. provider of medical and dental services to extended care facilities).

In this podcast we focus on health data, new data generated by wearables, direct-to-consumer genome testing, to generate value on different levels (personal insights, utility for physicians, health-driven incentives and behavior adjustments). …

The adoption of privacy regulations such as the GDPR, CCPA and, most recently, the Californian Privacy Rights Act (the “CPRA)” has been an important catalyst for new opportunities utilizing personal data. These regulations enshrine different personal data rights that individuals can exercise vis-a-vis brands and businesses that collect personal data.

For example, individuals can now ask service providers to explain what data they have collected and request a copy of the data that has been collected. Such data must be provided in a readable and easy to understand format. Consumers can also request that the service provider rectify certain data or even delete all of the data. …

On October 12, 2020, the Department of Justice released a third set of proposed modifications to the regulations regarding the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA, that went into effect on August 14, 2020).

By the proposed modifications, the Department of Justice proposed a number of modifications in three areas:

(a) how notices about the consumer’s right to opt out from sales of data should be given when businesses interact in brick-and-mortar situations or when consumers are approached by a phone call;

(b) how businesses should process requests to opt-out; and

(c) some improvements of consumer-to-business interaction via authorized agents.

Prifina team closely assessed the proposed amendments and wrote a concise comment to the office of the OAG with some recommendations. Below, we provide some highligts of the proposed modifications and Prifina’s proposals what issues the OAF should take into consideration in enforcing the Regulations. …

Prifina team is pleased to announce the release a new podcast series called “Liberty. Equality. Data.”

You can find it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and SoundCloud.

With this podcast series, we are aiming to foster the discussions about the value that individuals can get from their data. We will be inviting industry leaders and pioneers to talk about the most recent developments in different industries, the opportunities with the user-held data and an open data market. This podcast series is a rough continuation to Prifina’s Open Calls.

Episode #1 with Kathy Giori

In the first podcast episode, we talked with Kathy Giori who is a leading IoT expert building smart home systems that combine various sensors with data sources to open the gates for new solutions for smart living. The Podcast is called “Building Your Smart Home with Connected Sensors and Data.” …

In our previous post, we laid the initial groundwork to explain in what circumstances individuals can claim ownership over their personal data. Here are our main arguments:

• Such data could be added to the personal data cloud both manually (directly uploading certain copies of personal documents) or by means of important copies of customer data that individuals can now request from service providers (pursuant to the GDPR or California Consumer Privacy Act);
• We also emphasized that once that data enters into the personal data cloud, it is instantly processed and “normalized” which makes it a unique asset that is much more accurate and up-to-date than data collected by third parties. …

We are entering an age where individuals have full ownership and control over their personal data. Ownership of personal data is opening new opportunities for individuals: the ability to own and control how personal data is used, liberating, and empowering.

The user-centric data model has emerged recently and is gaining more attention not only among the private citizens who believe that every individual should own their personal data.

Large companies too are looking for new opportunities to interact with their customers; while legislators around the world are moving swiftly to adopt new data privacy regulations — such as the GDPR in Europe and the CCPA in California — that aim to balance the interests of the data aggregators, individuals, and the society as a whole. …

Data and privacy are among the most frequently used buzzwords nowadays. Contact tracking, surveillance, and the use of data raise many debates among policymakers, economists, and consumer rights advocates.

Who should own personal data and data that is generated by our cell phones or smart devices? The vast majority of us would agree that we should be the owners of the personal data about each and every one of us.

Current Approach: Focus on Access, not Ownership

You might be surprised, but such a right for individuals to own their personal data is not yet recognized in any jurisdiction. Nor is such a right to personal data ownership recognized in legal scholarship. In fact, the most esteemed legal thinkers and think tanks are of the opinion today that “there is no legal principle or theory that would justify the allocation of exclusive property rights over data.” …

During its 2020 Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple spent time on one of today’s hottest topics — privacy. During the past couple of years, Apple has been rolling out various public campaigns aiming to position itself as a company that respects its customer’s privacy. This year’s WWDC had some remarkable issues related to privacy-related features in Apple’s products.

“When Apple was founded, the proposition was, ‘This is the personal computer. This is your own data.’ … As the world has evolved, [we] have continued to think … that the data that you create, the things you do with your computer–those are yours and should be under your control. You should be aware of what’s happening with your data.” …