It’s time for Consumer Data Right
By: Nathan Kinch
Tags: Consumer Data Right, Innovation, Digital Rights, Digital Economy, Open Banking

For most of my career I’ve been arguing that personal data agency is something we should value, prioritise and design for. I’ve progressed from communicating early, high level arguments towards delivering far more specific and detailed proposals about how to make the progress we’re motivated by real. This thinking has featured everywhere from InVision through to UXPA and even TechCrunch. It’s had me deep down in the weeds and high up in the sky (figuratively and literally).

The more time I spend intentionally focusing on these issues and opportunties, the more I realise just how much I don’t know. So much remains uncertain.

Who knows where I’m actually up to…

Something that has become quite clear to me, however, is that we need to design for change. And unless we’re happy with a ‘normal’ that is systematically broken (plenty more on this topic if you’re interested), we need to design for this change now.

In the context of the Consumer Data Right here in Australia, and Open Banking in the UK, I’ve been fortunate to lead and contribute to work that has shaped the foundations and future potential of these initiatives.

Want to learn more about our work? Check out this case study from our work with Open Banking and this video overview of our Consumer Data Right research with the Data Standards Body.

It’s an exciting time to for everyone involved. In fact, the Consumer Data Right ‘goes live’ today. This is particularly exciting for one of our favourite partners, Regional Australia Bank. They’ve taken an ambitious approach and demonstrated (by becoming the first ever accredited data recipient) that even a small, Customer Owned Bank can play this game well.

Although today is a day worth celebrating, we mustn’t become complacent. The CDR needs work. Lots of it.

I’ve frequently heard the CDR called the “Bankers Data Right” or the “Consumer Data Wrong”. Whether this is just a little tongue in cheek or an accurate reflection of the ecosystem architecture is yet to be empirically determined. We simply don’t know how all this will play out.

What I believe I can say with at least a whiff of confidence is that the Consumer Data Right will not achieve its purpose unless we all work together towards common, socially preferable goals. The CDR needs a compelling vision, an actionable strategy, and a framework that supports validated learning for the entire ecosystem.

We’ve (Greater Than X) been arguing for this and plenty more for well over 12 months. We even developed a vision and supporting strategy. We did this because, when we asked the question, it became clear there either wasn’t a clear vision and supporting strategy or there was and it wasn’t being publicly communicated.

If you want to dive deeper into that, start here and then download the report. We cover everything from platform ecosystem design to data ethics to incentive structures and key metrics.

This is a point I’d like to (politely) hammer home. The CDR cannot develop in a silo. The CDR shouldn’t be about encouraging people to opt into their own surveillance and consent to things they don’t truly understand. I do not believe this is the purpose that’s motivating so many to work so hard. The CDR should help us make meaningful progress towards personal data agency and digital economy leadership on a global scale.

For those interested in working towards this outcome, I’d love to talk.