S4 Episode 11: James Walker from Rightly on GDPR and consumer data rights

May 25th 2022, marks four years since the General Data Protection Regulation, more commonly known as GDPR came into effect in the UK and the EU.  The GDPR's primary aim is to enhance individuals' control and rights over their personal data and simplify international businesses' regulatory environment. Four years on, though, are consumers adequately protected?

I spoke with James Walker, CEO of Consumer Privacy champion, Rightly, to better answer this question.

James is a consumer rights advocate and entrepreneur. He founded and grew Resolver, a free, independent resolution service with 18 million unique visitors a year that has solved six billion pounds worth of issues and is the largest independent resolution service in Europe. 

James has advised Government, Regulators and Ombudsmen on consumer rights and how to deliver better customer services. 

He is on the Board of the Dispute Ombudsman, a Consumer Expert to The Office of Road and Rail, a Non-Executive Director to Consumer Scotland, a co-founder and Non- Executive Director to The Collaboration Network and an advisor to Life Ledger. 

We covered a number of relevant and practical topics including:

• What is Rightly?
• What does Rightly do?
• What has been the reaction from advertising companies?
• What is GDPR & what's happened since its launch in 2018?
• What changes are required to GDPR to make it work as intended?
• What is my digital footprint, and how far does it extend?
• How does Rightly work?
• Can you check if companies have replied to your removal request?
• The Right.ly business model
• Brokering a fair value exchange for our personal data
• Brand’s obsession with data
• The need for transparency and openness
• Open Bankings' influence on open data
• The role of regulators
• Staying safe online
• Why breached data has a half-life
• Right.ly consumer research results
• What's next for Right.ly?
• Advice for the UK's Information Commissioner's Office
• The notion of the Polluter pays model
• Three things to do today to start controlling our data

More on James
James on LinkedIn
James on Twitter
Rightly website

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