Privacy as enabler of innovation

Abstract

Privacy has long been perceived as a hindrance to innovation. It has been considered to raise costs for data governance without providing real benefits. However, the attitude of various stakeholders towards the relationship between privacy and innovation has started to change. Privacy is increasingly embraced as an enabler of innovation, given that consumer trust is central for realising businesses with data-driven products and services. In addition to building trust by demonstrating accountability in the processing of personal data, companies are increasingly using tools to protect privacy, for example in the context of data storage and archiving. More and more companies are realising that they can benefit from a proactive approach to data protection. A growing number of tools for privacy protection, and the emergence of products and services that are inherently privacy friendly indicate that the market is about to change. In this paper, we first outline what “privacy as enabler of innovation” means and then present evidence for this position. Key challenges that need to be overcome on the way towards successful privacy markets include the lack of profitability of privacy-friendly offerings, conflicts with new and existing business models, low value attached to privacy by individuals, latent cultural specificities, skill gaps and regulatory loopholes.