FinRegLab and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco fintech team hosted a symposium titled “The Role of Consumers in the Data Ecosystem” on November 4-5, 2019, in Los Angeles, California. The event involved more than 130 stakeholders from diverse backgrounds, including not only industry, advocates, researchers, and regulators who focus on U.S. financial services but also perspectives from other sectors and countries.
The symposium discussions helped to inform our February 2020 report, The Use of Cash-Flow Data in Underwriting Credit: Market Context & Policy Analysis, as well as a June 2020 report by SFFRB fintech team member Kaitlin Asrow, The Role of Individuals in the Data Ecosystem: Current Debates and Considerations for Data Protection and Data Rights in the United States.
About the Event
As new financial technologies emerge, consumers have an ever-increasing array of options for using and sharing financial data. The continued growth of data-related innovations is poised to further accelerate the rate of data generation and sharing, as well as elevate associated conerns about data use and handling.
Policymakers, regulators, and other stakeholders have been working to set standards and expand the collective understanding of legal and technical issues related to consumer financial data. But more remains to be done, including understanding the appropriate role of consumers in this evolving ecosystem. A handful of key questions continue to commonly surface in debates, including: Who owns data? Who has the right to access one’s data? Who may exercise control over consumer data?
Agenda
Monday, November 4 – Tuesday, November 5, 2019
DAY ONE
Monday, November 4, 2019
Session 1: The Interplay of Protection and Individual Choice
How to balance the necessity of consumer protection with the consumer’s feedom of choice and individual preferences with regard to data?
Session 2: “Ownership” in the Digital Realm: Is It Possible?
Can legal constructs of ‘ownership’ apply to data? How do we define which data a consumer should have some amount of power over?
Session 3: Defining the Role of Consumers
What avenues do consumers have to act upon their own data? How might these roles be beneficial or challenging in their own lives?
Session 4: Consumer Input and Awareness
What roles do consumers themselves want to have around data? How should the ecosystem engage with consumers to enable their preferred roles?
Session 5: Diversity of Consumer Preference
Is it possible to address differing consumer preferences around what their roles around data could, or should, be? Could an active data management role disadvantage certain consumer populations, and if so, what is the potential for trusted intermediaries to mitigate this?
Session 6: Opportunities and Challenges for Society
Where could increases in consumer’s ability to act upon their data preferences have positive externalities such as increased inclusion and competitive innovation or negative externalities such as systemic risk? How should we balance individual empowerment with larger societal impacts?
Closing Presentation: Nonrivalry and the Economics of Data
DAY TWO
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Session 7: U.S. Data Governance Frameworks
How do existing U.S. financial and data governance frameworks, such as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act, and the California Consumer Privacy Act, address consumers’ ability to engage with, and act upon, their data?
Session 8: Parallels and Divergence across Finance, Health and Education
How do different sectors think about the role of consumers in the data ecosystem? Are there similarities between finance, health, and education in regard to consumer data? Are there differences that may require independent approaches to data governance?
Session 9: International Data Governance Frameworks
How do existing international financial and data governance frameworks, such as the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, the UK’s Open Banking directive, and India’s Draft Data Protection Bill combined with Aadhaar numbers, address consumers’ ability to engage with, and act upon, their data?
Tech-talk 1: Consent Flows and Dashboards
What technology processes and platforms are in use today that address consumers’ ability to engage with, and act upon, their data?
Tech-talk 2: Digital Identity
How could the concept and implementation of ‘digital identities’ impact consumers’ ability to engage with, and act upon, their data?
Tech-talk 3: Privacy-Enhancing Technologies
What technologies exist today, and potentially in the future, that could enhance consumer protection and privacy while still enabling consumer choice and the use of data for innovative products?