Own Your Data – The Way Forward to Creating a Digital Economy in Europe

Switzerland might be in a unique position to profit from the new digital economy. In his presentation economist and writer Hannes Grassegger (*1980) will present a novel way to understand the rise of the Internet economy. Starting with a simple question – why is the market capitalization of Facebook and Google/Alphabet so high if their products are mostly free? Grassegger unveils the functioning of the Silicon Valley business model. Based on his successful book «Das Kapital bin ich» Grassegger describes a new form of capital that has come into existence. This new asset class is the new oil of the current industrial revolution in every major industry, from media to medicine and finance.

At the same time the Silicon Valley model has not only created a sharp debate about income distribution and the future of labor but also contradicts with two concepts that are highly valued all over Europe: privacy and ownership. Whilst advocates of the Silicon Valley model are arguing we should give up on concepts of privacy and data ownership, political activists are concerned about the effects – leading to a slowdown in the development of the Swiss and European digital economy. Hannes Grassegger takes a different position, arguing that property rights might be key to building a new model of the digital economy which can be reconciled with the premises of a free and open society. Switzerland with its longstanding tradition of privacy could become a key player in this project. To Grassegger we are at a historical turning point in the formation of a new economic system. Not much time might be left, Grassegger says, but a historical chance is waiting for us.

For this speech no Video and no PowerPoint-Presentation is available. An Executive Summary of the speech you can find here.