The article first talks about how there is a major power imbalance in the digital economy. Those that use the internet and populate data once populated do not have control over what happens or gets to see what is done with their data. While the ones who do use data are the ones profiting from it, this creates an imbalance and harms democratic participation as well as a violation of privacy. To tackle all of these problems they pose the idea of a data cooperative. These cooperatives would be the intermediary that helps work with companies and others that want the data and work with them to make guidelines and make sure that those whose data they are using benefit as well. They want to work to change the fact that as of now it is as if our data is not our own property rather it is being collected and profited off of by others. However there are challenges to making this become a reality which are taken into account and talked about here such as having those who are already using the data and in power to agree to a cooperative agreement. As well as finding secure ways of keeping data while it’s being transferred and stored.
