Trust in the Digital Economy
Last December 7, I was privileged to speak at the Voyager forum about Building Trust in the Digital Economy. Allow me to share a short excerpt from my keynote:
More and more, with globalization and greater awareness and choice for consumers, it is becoming evident that businesses traffic not only in goods and services, but also in trust.
This is all the more important given the ongoing trends in today’s age of information, especially in the Philippines. Statistically, over a third (8.59 hours) of a Filipino’s day is spent on the internet, with half of this spent on Social Media. In a country where a smartphone can be ordered through Lazada for around 1,800 pesos, it’s not surprising that the Filipino’s gadget of choice is the cellular phone, with 85 percent of the population accessing the internet through mobile.
With these rising trends, we expect more and more ICT-based economic activities. After all, you don’t just use phones and the internet for personal enjoyment. With the steady rise of connectivity in the country, it follows that commercial transactions and professional interactions based around this convenient form of data transfer would also gain traction.
So, are we finally ready for a fullblown digital economy? Increasing internet use among Filipino consumers, check; digital innovations from the private sector, check; government support, check; digital momentum, check.
Everything seems to be heading north. However, do these factors complete the formula for us to succeed in transitioning to a digital economy? Almost.
There is a hidden cost not many consumers are aware of, and that is a cost to their privacy. As they access the internet, so too do they allow companies to access their personal information— their friends lists, their locations, their likes and interests through their browsing history, sometimes even the medicines they are taking.
That is now the way the world moves, with data as the new global Oil. Consumers access the internet and they expose their personal information to businesses who use it to guide their decision-making.
Such an environment has introduced a new set of risks. The data handling dimension of a business now means that there are new threads of trust-building between companies and their clientele.
A person trusts you to take care of their information—and when that information is exposed and compromised, then you can be sure that there will be a backlash among your customers. No decent business wants a data breach and no one wants to be the latest ransomware victim.
In one recent discussion, a private company posited their trust-building model as such: Trust is the product of value, and respect, and security. You become trusted when your product gives value to your customer, when your brand is respected, and when you can provide security for the personal information that they allow you to access.
I set to wondering how well such a model fits in the Philippines, with its own unique context and culture. How does a data-handling culture becomes trusted in our country? Here is what I propose: In the Philippines, a data handling organization becomes trusted if it exercises transparency; if it exercises excellent standards in the goods and services it releases to the public; if the market sees its values as aligned with theirs; and if it builds relationships through empathy and a sense of security. Organizational trust, given this model, is a function of data privacy because only when you are able to demonstrate care for the personal information of your client base will they continue to trust you.
Ultimately, the goal of the National Privacy Commission—our contribution to nation-building—is to ensure that an ecosystem of trust is established among all players, whether they are businesses or organizations, or even government regulators that handle data, or the common Filipino who entrust their personal information to you.
For news and updates, please like the National Privacy Commission’s page on Facebook. Email info@ privacy.gov.ph for comments and questions.