Who Collects the Data?
Posted: Sat May 24, 2025 5:53 am
Tech Giants
Companies like Google, Facebook (Meta), Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft are at the forefront of data collection. They operate platforms and services used by billions, giving them access to rich data streams.
b. Data Brokers
These are intermediaries that buy, aggregate, and sell data. They compile information from various sources—both online and offline—to create detailed user profiles used for marketing and analytics.
c. Governments
Governments collect data for public services, security, and surveillance. While some of this is benign (e.g., census data), others—like mass surveillance programs—raise significant ethical concerns.
d. Advertisers and Marketers
Advertising networks track user behavior to deliver targeted ads. They vietnam phone number list rely on a combination of first-party and third-party data to build consumer personas.
Data Storage and Management
Once collected, digital data needs to be stored, managed, and analyzed. This involves:
Cloud Storage: Data is often stored in distributed cloud environments (e.g., AWS, Google Cloud) that allow for scalability and accessibility.
Data Warehouses and Data Lakes: Structured data is stored in warehouses (like Snowflake or BigQuery), while unstructured or semi-structured data often goes into data lakes (e.g., Hadoop-based systems).
Databases: Relational (SQL) and non-relational (NoSQL) databases manage everything from user accounts to e-commerce transactions.
Edge Computing: For IoT devices and real-time processing, some data is processed on the device or nearby, reducing latency and bandwidth use.
Companies like Google, Facebook (Meta), Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft are at the forefront of data collection. They operate platforms and services used by billions, giving them access to rich data streams.
b. Data Brokers
These are intermediaries that buy, aggregate, and sell data. They compile information from various sources—both online and offline—to create detailed user profiles used for marketing and analytics.
c. Governments
Governments collect data for public services, security, and surveillance. While some of this is benign (e.g., census data), others—like mass surveillance programs—raise significant ethical concerns.
d. Advertisers and Marketers
Advertising networks track user behavior to deliver targeted ads. They vietnam phone number list rely on a combination of first-party and third-party data to build consumer personas.
Data Storage and Management
Once collected, digital data needs to be stored, managed, and analyzed. This involves:
Cloud Storage: Data is often stored in distributed cloud environments (e.g., AWS, Google Cloud) that allow for scalability and accessibility.
Data Warehouses and Data Lakes: Structured data is stored in warehouses (like Snowflake or BigQuery), while unstructured or semi-structured data often goes into data lakes (e.g., Hadoop-based systems).
Databases: Relational (SQL) and non-relational (NoSQL) databases manage everything from user accounts to e-commerce transactions.
Edge Computing: For IoT devices and real-time processing, some data is processed on the device or nearby, reducing latency and bandwidth use.