Oxford Union: Government access to consumer data?

John Taysom, Privitar co-founder and investor, took part recently in the Oxford Union Technological Privacy Debate.

The Motion: This House Believes Technology Companies Should Prevent Government Access to Consumers’ Data.

John Taysom argued the case for the Proposition, as the third speaker of six in the debate.

The government should not get access to my data as a matter of course. Or any consumer data. The government has a right to know who you are. Because they protect you and they tax you. And that’s the social contract that we make with our elected representatives. But the government has no right to know what you like, or what you buy or which way you might vote. Except in the abstract properly anonymised and for the purpose of driving evidence-based public policy formation.