Blockchain technology offers numerous benefits both for online businesses and their customers. As blockchain enters the mainstream, in all types of verticals it is introducing greater security, transparency and auditability.
We are well aware by now that with impregnable encryption and a decentralized, peer-controlled system where every action is publicly recorded, company data is more secure and all transactions are automatically processed. But, is that all, or can blockchain also serve to create a new paradigm, where the user comes first, and not a business’ bottom line?
One industry that serves as a perfect example, for the potentially radical impact of blockchain is online advertising. Adtech, worth $230 billion a year has been working in the shadows for years. Digital giants like Google and Facebook have been harvesting our personal information, sharing and selling it, with little to no consideration of user privacy.
This is underscored by the recent series of data breaches hitting the headlines, most prominently the Facebook — Cambridge Analytica scandal, where the personal information of approximately 50 million Facebook users and their friends was compromised.
One company that has harnessed the power of blockchain to hold the ad industry to a higher standard, is Liberdy. The Liberdy Data Foundation is a non-profit on a mission to introduce fairness, security and transparency to the advertising marketplace. Liberdy has created an entirely new decentralized ad ecosystem which prioritizes user privacy, putting the user in control of what data to share with whom, and paying them for the use of their data.
Liberdy enables the user to extract their data from the online companies like Google, Amazon Facebook and more. It then anonymizes it, and encrypts it, so it cannot be traced back to the specific individual.
Here is where blockchain’s impenetrable encryption capabilities enter the picture. Since blockchain-based systems are decentralized, security is enhanced, as data is distributed across the entire network. This ensures that no single entity can take control of the information, and it also means that since the user’s personal data is not stored in one individual server, it is less vulnerable to attack.
Another of the major benefits of blockchain is that it guarantees a transparent marketplace where every transaction is made using smart contracts, which are automatically enforced and then recorded on the public ledger, accessible to all the peers on the network. This ensures that the user’s data cannot be sold without their knowledge and they can be guaranteed payment for their digital commodity.
Blockchain also enables the creation of direct, open relationships between parties. In the case of Liberdy, this involves advertisers and the users whose data is so critical to the creation of relevant targeted ads. This creates a level playing field so that for the first time, smaller advertisers have equal opportunities to purchase first hand, verified, consent-based data, which was not previously available outside the walled garden of Google and Facebook.
In this new, fairer blockchain-based ad ecosystem, the user gets paid for their data and the advertiser gets access to user-validated data from a range of online sources including digital retailers, social networks, search engines and more.
Without blockchain technology, Liberdy would not have been able to re-envision and revolutionize the advertising ecosystem, creating a more democratic and equitable data marketplace. By putting the user first, they have changed the game, and set a new standard that other online business that store user data will need to match if they don’t want to be left behind. The example set by Liberdy can also serve as a worthy template for all kinds of other industries, where accessibility, security, and transparency are currently in short supply.
To learn more check out http://liberdy.io
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