How much money is big tech making from us?

There was once a time when the internet was not dominated by a handful of increasingly powerful companies making untold billions.

But that was before we realised how much data we’ve been giving away and what the big companies were doing with it.

If you’ve wondered how much this data is really worth, a research firm has finally put a number on it. It’s a lot of money.

The Switzerland-based Web3 Foundation reports that the commercial value of an average internet user’s data over their lifetime is USD$160,000 (roughly $225,000 in Australian dollars). 

That value adds up to a much bigger amount – $745 trillion – if applied to the world’s six billion internet users over a period of 60 years, which was the researchers’ chosen timeframe. 

Big names like Amazon, Alphabet (Google), Microsoft, Meta and Anthropic are especially adept at monetising our personal information.

This is not just ad revenue we’re talking about: it’s the commercial value of our online searches, clicks, locations, purchases, prompts, messages, images, preferences and behavioural signals. It’s all grist for the mill.

“For too long, the internet has operated on an implicit bargain that users do not fully understand – convenience in exchange for surveillance,” says Web3 founder Gavin Wood.

“The modern digital economy is powered by human data, yet the people generating that value have little visibility, control or participation in the upside.”

Toward a user-led internet

Web3 Foundation – which says it develops decentralised web software “with a focus on giving users greater control over their identity, data, digital assets and online interactions” – admits that the numbers are more of a benchmark than a precise calculation.

But the company’s report, The Hidden Price of Free: What Your Data Is Really Worth, comes with a detailed explanation of its methodology, which involved assessing the practices of 129 major tech companies.

“For decades, digital platforms have been built around centralised control, where users hand over their data, identity and value in exchange for access to services,” says Web3 vice president of technical operations Bill Laboon. “The internet does not have to work this way.”

He adds that as “AI accelerates and data becomes even more valuable, building a more transparent, user-led internet is becoming increasingly urgent”.

The report breaks down the revenue calculations, going from lowest to highest, into ‘conservative’, ‘central’ and ‘expansive’ scenarios.

The conservative scenarios of Personal Data Annual Value are eye-opening enough: 

• Globally – $485 per person per year
• USA – $4816 per person per year
• North America – $3390 per person per year
• UK and Europe – $938 per person per year
• Rest of the world – $155 per person per year

The Web3 report declares itself “a vital benchmark for understanding the scale of commercial value associated with personal data”.

“It shows that the current internet economy depends on a vast transfer of value from individuals to companies, usually without meaningful visibility, bargaining power, compensation or control”, the researchers write.

Only 4% of Australians trust AI

The global extrapolations of the value of our data come at a time when trust of its most powerful processor, AI, has hit an all-time low. 

According to the latest Australian Community Attitudes to Privacy Survey (ACAPS) report released by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) in late May, only 4% of Australians trust AI companies to protect their privacy, and only 3% trust social media platforms. 

Australian Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind says the findings show that the AI sector has a long way to go to get the right privacy protections in place.

The ACAPS report “points to a community that places a high value on privacy, but does not consistently experience privacy protections as workable in practice,” Kind says.

“The survey’s findings mirror the rise in privacy complaints received by the OAIC – which have increased by 73% this financial year to date. Our efforts are delivering positive outcomes for the community, including speedier complaint timeframes, but community concern continues to grow at an alarming rate.”

• Only 1 in 10 respondents say organisations’ online practices are usually fair, while 35% say they are mostly or always unfair.
• Around two-thirds of Australians (68%) say they would be more likely to use digital services requiring personal information if they knew their data was handled fairly and responsibly.

---

Andy Kollmorgen

Andy Kollmorgen is the Investigations Editor at CHOICE. He reports on a wide range of issues in the consumer marketplace, with a focus on financial harm to vulnerable people at the hands of corporations and businesses. Prior to CHOICE, Andy worked at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and at the Australian Financial Review along with a number of other news organisations. Andy is a former member of the NSW Fair Trading Advisory Council. He has a Bachelor of Arts in English from New York University. LinkedIn

Andy Kollmorgen is the Investigations Editor at CHOICE. He reports on a wide range of issues in the consumer marketplace, with a focus on financial harm to vulnerable people at the hands of corporations and businesses. Prior to CHOICE, Andy worked at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and at the Australian Financial Review along with a number of other news organisations. Andy is a former member of the NSW Fair Trading Advisory Council. He has a Bachelor of Arts in English from New York University. LinkedIn