Aside from those living deep underwater, part of our life resembles a book written in real time. Through credit cards, the bank knows what is in our fridge. Through health insurance, social welfare knows the state of our body. Through a Facebook account, goodness knows who knows all kinds of things about us that even we don’t know.

(Well, Telecom operators or Internet providers, are close to our very existence, they know nearly everything…).

All the collected, stored and analysed information from this book has become an essential economic asset for companies. They are the first to wish us happy birthday, way before our closest friend.

Such intimacy is kind of weird !

However, this book – this masterpiece – remains the absolute property of its author, the People. Only prior consent allows access to this book.

So why would anyone agree to share this part of their lives? Why would anyone blindly accept the Terms and Conditions (T&C) that indeed nobody reads ?

People are no longer single buying customers. They have become participating individuals, agreeing to share information in exchange for more than just a product or service. They are agreeing to a relationship within the same community – between themselves and Companies.

As individuals change throughout their lives and as the community adapts. The Cloud is a living thing and it never loses sight of the People’s rights; the right to be known and the right to be forgotten.

Because Friends of my friends are not necessarily my friends,

non-disclosure is not a matter of legal constraints or of a complex technical system; they are both merely ethical values, which concern us all.

Any Information system, Digital service and whatever technology, is closely linked to this interaction with People. The fundamental pillars of protection and respect, which comply with the rules engraved in the T&C, are a responsibility that comes with this trusted relationship. Therefore, Companies are no longer the sole owners of theirs brand image. People, within this exchange of trust and loyalty, govern this reputation and this economic capacity.

To ignore this would result in isolation.

Each piece of private data provided is an act of faith in exchange for transparency and understanding; it deserves protection. Each opinion, review and complaint helps to service innovation within the community; together we are the Cloud, it deserves respect.