APEX, a blockchain network for the next generation of B2C applications, takes on the challenge of improving the broken data space. Consumers are often considered to get the short end of the stick when it comes to data transactions. APEX highlights two main problems regarding data: 1) Data ownership and 2) Data Privacy and Security.
Data ownership has been centralized, which has contributed to the success of businesses that collect data and use it for a number of reasons. You may have heard of a few of these companies, such as Facebook, Google, Baidu, and Naver, who have established data ownership the core of their business model. These industrial giants have been profiting off of your data, and although we technically agree to give them our information, it doesn’t seem like we gain much.
But if these companies have our data, can’t they at least keep our information hidden safe somewhere? As you have read in your newspapers or on the Internet, data leaks and breaches are not uncommon events. The recent 2017 Equifax data breach, the Yahoo data compromises, and the Cambridge Analytica scandal are prime examples of failures in the current structure. Smaller scale data catastrophes happen all the time, with companies suffering an attack and losing customer data, each debacle concluding with an apology letter. It seems like we as consumers are paying a heavy price for a faulty system, and it has become ever so difficult to trust these private companies.
APEX’s Solution
APEX offers a solution that restores balance in the world of data. In other words, we as consumers gain more power and benefit through APEX’s privacy-focused, consent-driven, and fair protocols between businesses and consumers. How does this happen, you ask? APEX’s B2C data transaction application scenario tells us how.
The APEX network allows enterprises to create protocols that can be a part of a non-decentralized application, or they can create their very own dApp on APEX. Businesses can configure the settings they desire, which include the levels of data quality and data verification. Additionally, enterprises select a tokenized cost structure that suits its needs. But this is where you claim your data rights. You as the consumer have the right to determine how much your data is worth. You set the minimum price for the enterprise to gain access to your data. While this may not sound like groundbreaking news, consider how much your data is worth right now. How much do you earn for sharing your information?
You may be asking, “How can we be sure our data won’t be leaked again?” or “How can we be sure that we can decide on whether or not we want to give up our information?” The answer is blockchain technology. APEX’s blockchain network not only boosts efficiency with the elimination of middlemen expenditures, but the very nature of blockchain and cryptography enhances privacy functions, control, and security. Privacy and security are upgraded due to data in-transit encryption and the encryption of identity. Smart contracts, which are self-executing contracts whose terms are agreed upon, allow for consensual data transactions. If a condition that you agreed on is not fulfilled, then the data transaction will not be made. Now, “No” means no, and “Yes” means yes. You have the authority to decide on the fate of your information.
APEX’s vision encompasses various other aspects of B2C interactions, all of which are well-detailed in the development paper. I briefly talked about consumers’ rights to data because I think it’s something that we all need to be aware of. Let’s hope APEX pulls through and restores the power back to us.