Today is celebrated globally as World Consumer Rights Day, and for many like India it is also National Consumers Day. March 15 was chosen because then-US president John F Kennedy declared the consumer Bill of Rights to US Congress in 1961. It affirmed consumer rights were an inalienable part of the national economy. Since 1983, at the behest of Consumers International, government and non-government organisations around the world have been observing the same with one or the other vital theme to attract the attention of the public and policymakers. The theme to mark this year's celebrations is "Trusted Smart Products".
In the age of Industry 4.0, more commonly referred to as the fourth industrial revolution, it becomes important to bring forth a consumer perspective on the evolving data-driven digital technologies, to create better awareness when interacting with such technologies. After all, consumers are the raison d'etre of all economic activity, whether driven by steam, electricity or data. The digital economy, which is driven by and generates data, needs to put the consumer at the heart of the calculation, so they develop trust in this newfangled system.
There are an estimated 23 billion smart products in the world, i.e. those which are capable of being connected to the internet to receive, collect and send data. Such products include smartphones, wearable fitness trackers, smart TVs, voice-activated assistants, and so on. Fuelled by the personal data of consumers, these innovative products have found their way into the homes of consumers, and have blended with their day to day lives to often be considered indispensable.
The multiple number of devices used by affluent consumers to avail themselves of digital technology services, e.g. computers and smartphones, as well as tablets and other smart products, are testament to the growing significance digital technologies hold in people's lives. Although emerging and innovative technologies such as the Internet of Things (IOT), artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchains hold promise to bring many more benefits to consumers, the associated data privacy concerns may hamper consumer trust in them.
Consumer perception surveys conducted by CUTS in India have repeatedly highlighted the willingness of consumers, both in urban and rural areas, to use data-driven digital technologies for things like communication and entertainment. Various perceived benefits by consumers from technologies in terms of time and cost saving, ease and convenience of access, have been the driving factors behind their increased usage.
As technologies evolve, these products are envisaged to bring more benefits to consumers, ranging from access to new services, to more responsive products, along with greater convenience, personalised services and choice.
Our surveys have also highlighted that consumers are generally comfortable sharing their personal data with service providers for multiple purposes, which also includes "better and improved services" -- innovation, in other words. However, there also exists scepticism regarding the allied risks of data sharing with service providers. Risks include the misuse or misappropriation of data, excessive data collection, and data not being protected at the end by service providers.
Low levels of awareness about grievance redressal in the case of misused data by service providers, coupled with consumers' limited means to protect their data, and blurred clarity when in comes to accountability, may also dent consumer trust in data-driven technologies.
Furthermore, the opacity maintained by service providers in their practice of using, curating and monetising data, should also be areas of concern for the government and civil society groups alike, especially considering that privacy (including informational privacy) is a fundamental right.
Studies have shown the adverse impacts on consumer trust, thereby affecting the uptake of digital services, in the event of data breaches, or lack of data protection at the service providers' end. It may therefore be said that service providers of smart products and services need to uphold data privacy for their products and services to become "trusted smart products". The government would also need to ensure the framing of optimal consumer data protection frameworks, in order to foster trust among consumers for sharing their data with service providers, which may not always be the case as many countries, including India, are yet to come to grips with the issue of personal data protection.
There are other challenges, as well, looming over the enhanced proliferation of smart products among consumers, including the lack of access due to weak or no digital infrastructure, poor digital skills, and lack of affordability, especially among rural consumers. Such barriers also inhibit the sophisticated use of digital technologies. These need to be overcome through collaborative efforts of the government, service providers, civil society organisations, and so forth.
It is therefore important to enshrine consumer rights in the design of upcoming data-driven technologies. Apart from other consumer rights such as the right to safety, the right to choose, the right to information, and the right to be heard, the right to data privacy needs to be upheld.
This World Consumer Rights Day should be a reminder to all stakeholders to deliver a real impact for consumers in the age of data-driven innovation. This may be done by engaging in awareness- and capacity- building exercises for consumers on the pain points discussed above. This would help foster consumer trust on data-driven digital technologies, thereby enabling their uptake so people could avail themselves of the associated benefits.
Pradeep S Mehta and Sidarth Narayan work for CUTS International, a public policy research and advocacy group headquartered in Jaipur, India.