New token company to pay Mexican users for personal data

As the debate over personal data use heats up across the world, a Mexican company is launching a way for consenting users to share more accurate information over the internet with content producers and the advertisers trying to reach them.

Tegger , a soon-to-be launched digital token built over the Ethereum blockchain cryptocurrency platform, will reward users for sharing their personal data (a thorny issue) with online publishers and sellers, Tegger CEO Renato Carregha (pictured) told BNamericas.

The idea, he said, "is to redistribute the value of data generated by consuming online content. Today, when users browse the internet they are offering personal data ... and getting nothing in return beyond access to a platform."

Content websites such as Mexico's Cultura Colectiva , the first partner for Tegger 's launch, will also be able to improve their stance in a harsh competitive environment against companies like Facebook, which control most self-reported user information, he added.

"There is no trustworthy data regarding the audiences looking at content such as Cultura Colectiva 's," Carregha added. Probabilistic data available to those sites, he said, "cause a lot of lost money in ineffective advertising."

He added that "what we are creating is a digital ecosystem that allows users to decide which data to share, enrich them with self-reported data and obtain rewards in exchange. The site will also be rewarded when users logged to Tegger consume their content."

REWARDS AND SECURITY

The first rewards for the token will be offered via an online marketplace where Tegger will offer services and experiences to users, he explained. But they will eventually be able to use it as rewards on sites such as online video game and streaming platform Twitch , or to be sent to cryptocurrency exchanges to be traded for other bitcoin-based cryptocurrencies or legal tender. The token is based on Ethereum 's ERC-20 architecture for smart contracts, he said.

Data security, Carregha said, will be handled by pseudonyms and user hashtags to keep users anonymous. "We will never sell individual data, but only as agglomerated information." Users will also be able to deactivate the data sharing function at will.

The initial universe of potential users is tied to Cultura Colectiva 's 15-20mn unique monthly users. The company will look for other Mexican websites with similar users to increase their presence across digital audiences, with an eye on going pan-regional.

"For the end of 2019, the goal is to focus on Mexico, with an additional three or four media ... and to have 750,000 registered users," Carregha said.