What legislative initiatives will change and what are the expected effects on our AI and data projects?
Posted: Wed Jan 29, 2025 4:13 am
Data is the foundation of all business processes as well as of a company's value chain. This understanding has become more and more firmly established in our consciousness in recent years, which is why we instinctively react with approval to the above sentence. We believe that the use of data in a designated and focused manner should be done - indeed, it should be done - according to clear rules and in pursuit of strategic goals.
A company must become data-driven to achieve this. For this to happen, the technologies to be used as well as the architectures to be used are derived from the designated data strategy and numerous additional roles are introduced as part of a broad data governance initiative. This approach comes with the promise of being able to use data wisely and as requested. From the decision-maker to the data worker, information is made available with a high degree of flexibility, transparency and traceability and in a form tailored to the needs of the target group. The focus in recent years has been particularly on application-driven use and refinement within the departmental boundaries of individuals and much less often at company or group boundaries.
In this context, (carefully) handling data is not an end in itself, as doing so promises the company increasing revenues. However, at this point, only a few companies have figured out data facebook data monetization for themselves. Being well acquainted with the market and customers through data observation and analysis undoubtedly creates a direct competitive advantage in the competitive market. The competitive disadvantage, however, can be much more severe if this specific knowledge is not gathered from data.
But, through daily contact with social media or search engines (or even increasingly popular language models like GPT or ChatGPT), we also understand how important our own data has become in the meantime. Who hasn't been surprised to discover that Google Maps, to take a rather mundane example, 'knows', without any input from us, where we live, work and what our regular routines are when we move around? What makes people uneasy is full of potential for businesses. Especially with the example of social media, we see that the data pool keeper has interesting things to offer his advertisers: from detailed customer data, including important geographic information, to preferences of all kinds. No matter if it's someone's favorite music, color or type of wine, everything is stored and can be called up on request. Purchasing customer data records now makes it possible to place highly personalized and targeted product offers, which increases conversion rates and subsequently sales, especially since targeting the target group promises higher completion rates.
This is exactly where digital regulation comes into play. Consumers need to be protected against the arbitrary storage and further use of their data, as well as against decisions made on the basis of aggregated or individual data sets. That said, it is not primarily about a blanket ban, but rather about demanding high-quality requirements. In digital regulation, or regulation in general, a regulatory framework is defined that simultaneously acts as a guide for market participants and removes uncertainties. In addition, European regulation aims to achieve general harmonisation to avoid fragmentation within the European Economic Area.
We recognize the types of regulation in various forms. To better categorize them, the hierarchy is concisely portrayed in what is known as the pyramid of regulations.
Brief introduction to the pyramid of standards
A standards pyramid makes understanding easier, reduces the complexity of regulations and outlines their relationships to each other (Figure 1). While legislation is shown at the top of a standards pyramid, the world of standardization is depicted as the pyramid goes down. The framework defined by a law is significantly stricter, while regulations and standards are more open to interpretation and define a more open framework.
A company must become data-driven to achieve this. For this to happen, the technologies to be used as well as the architectures to be used are derived from the designated data strategy and numerous additional roles are introduced as part of a broad data governance initiative. This approach comes with the promise of being able to use data wisely and as requested. From the decision-maker to the data worker, information is made available with a high degree of flexibility, transparency and traceability and in a form tailored to the needs of the target group. The focus in recent years has been particularly on application-driven use and refinement within the departmental boundaries of individuals and much less often at company or group boundaries.
In this context, (carefully) handling data is not an end in itself, as doing so promises the company increasing revenues. However, at this point, only a few companies have figured out data facebook data monetization for themselves. Being well acquainted with the market and customers through data observation and analysis undoubtedly creates a direct competitive advantage in the competitive market. The competitive disadvantage, however, can be much more severe if this specific knowledge is not gathered from data.
But, through daily contact with social media or search engines (or even increasingly popular language models like GPT or ChatGPT), we also understand how important our own data has become in the meantime. Who hasn't been surprised to discover that Google Maps, to take a rather mundane example, 'knows', without any input from us, where we live, work and what our regular routines are when we move around? What makes people uneasy is full of potential for businesses. Especially with the example of social media, we see that the data pool keeper has interesting things to offer his advertisers: from detailed customer data, including important geographic information, to preferences of all kinds. No matter if it's someone's favorite music, color or type of wine, everything is stored and can be called up on request. Purchasing customer data records now makes it possible to place highly personalized and targeted product offers, which increases conversion rates and subsequently sales, especially since targeting the target group promises higher completion rates.
This is exactly where digital regulation comes into play. Consumers need to be protected against the arbitrary storage and further use of their data, as well as against decisions made on the basis of aggregated or individual data sets. That said, it is not primarily about a blanket ban, but rather about demanding high-quality requirements. In digital regulation, or regulation in general, a regulatory framework is defined that simultaneously acts as a guide for market participants and removes uncertainties. In addition, European regulation aims to achieve general harmonisation to avoid fragmentation within the European Economic Area.
We recognize the types of regulation in various forms. To better categorize them, the hierarchy is concisely portrayed in what is known as the pyramid of regulations.
Brief introduction to the pyramid of standards
A standards pyramid makes understanding easier, reduces the complexity of regulations and outlines their relationships to each other (Figure 1). While legislation is shown at the top of a standards pyramid, the world of standardization is depicted as the pyramid goes down. The framework defined by a law is significantly stricter, while regulations and standards are more open to interpretation and define a more open framework.