Antony West (Author)

In today’s digital landscape, a new economic model has emerged: the surveillance economy. Here, your personal data—your searches, purchases, locations, and even your conversations—is the primary currency. Companies offer “free” services in exchange for the right to collect, analyze, and monetize this information, often without your full awareness or explicit consent. This data is used to build detailed profiles, predict your behavior, and target you with advertising, or even influence your decisions. While it drives innovation and personalized experiences, it also creates an opaque system where individuals have little control over how their most intimate details are used. Understanding this economy is the first step towards reclaiming control over our digital lives. What’s one piece of data you wish companies couldn’t collect about you?