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Your Attention Prints Money—Where’s Your Cut? Introducing the User Data Royalty

If your data fuels trillion-dollar ads, it’s COGS—my proposal makes platforms recognize it and pay royalties accordingly.
Typing on a Computer

After two decades building and securing enterprise platforms I’m proposing a fix to the “free” Big Tech problem: the User Data Royalty (UDR). If attention is the oil of the internet, where are our royalties? UDR treats your time and personal data as paid inputs—a real cost of goods—not freebies. The model is pragmatic: use the metrics platforms already track (ARPU, watch time, conversion lift), route a small, auditable slice of ad revenue into a user pool, and pay people proportionally for consented signals and measured time-in-app. It can be adopted as statute or a safe-harbor framework: platforms that implement UDR get access to richer targeting; those that don’t default to contextual ads. Users carry a portable data-wallet for consent and payout identity; platforms publish audited disclosures so the math is verifiable. This isn’t about punishing growth—it’s about aligning incentives: cleaner consent, better data, and fair compensation. The attention economy is mature; our compensation model should be, too.
 

THE TECH GIANTS ARE ALREADY BANKING ON YOU
 

INTRODUCING THE USER DATA ROYALTY (UDR)
 

Treat user data and attention as “inventory” or “cost of goods sold” and require platforms to pay residuals (royalties) to users.
 

How it works:
 

  1. Royalty Pool from Ad Revenue: Platforms earmark a % of ad revenue attributable to personalized targeting into a user royalty fund.

  2. Per-User Payout Formula: Time weight (measured active attention) + signal contribution (opt-in data that statistically lifts yield) + regional ARPU adjustment (align to local ad economics).

  3. Data Wallet & Consent Identity: Interoperable wallet to carry your consent + royalty ID across Meta/Google/TikTok, etc.

  4. Certified Payout & Auditing: Third-party audits for attribution models and payout math.

  5. Safe-Harbor Incentive: Adopt UDR ⇒ access richer targeting; refuse ⇒ contextual-only ads.
     

PRIOR ART — AND HOW UDR MOVES IT FORWARD
 

What’s been tried:
 

Where UDR is different (and stronger):
 

  1. Royalty as COGS, not a tax: books a defined slice of ad revenue attributable to personalization.

  2. Audited per-user formula: time-in-app + consented signal quality (verified lift) + regional ARPU—turns philosophy into accounting.

  3. Interoperable data wallet: portable consent + payout identity across platforms (aligns with EU intermediation direction).

  4. Safe-harbor lever: adopt UDR for advanced targeting; otherwise contextual-only. Clear, enforceable incentive.

  5. Measurement-friendly: fits current ad measurement; can incorporate Shapley-style contribution methods as they mature.
     

Reality check & rebuttal: Critics (e.g., EFF) argue pay-for-data yields tiny payouts or bad incentives. UDR addresses this by pooling at the revenue level, paying only for consented signals and verified lift, and mandating third-party audits. EFF critique
 

WHY IT’S FEASIBLE NOW
 

  • Platforms already compute ARPU, attribution, lift—this is accounting plumbing, not sci-fi.

  • U.S. internet ad revenue hit $258.6B in 2024 (room to share).

  • Precedent: Creators (music/film/TV) already earn residuals when their work monetizes. Users’ behavioral “content” drives targeted ads—treat it accordingly.

       Source: IAB/PwC Internet Ad Revenue 2024 (PDF)
 

ROLL-OUT ROADMAP (12–18 MONTHS)
 

  1. Standards Working Group: define data classes, consent schema, payout math, audit hooks.

  2. Pilot (Opt-In Cohort): run 2–3 quarters on a major platform; publish methodology; independent audit.

  3. Regulatory Bridge: recognize certified UDR as a path to richer targeting; non-UDR platforms use contextual only.

  4. Interoperable Data Wallets: browser/OS-level support for portable consent + royalty identity.

  5. Multi-Platform Adoption: once Meta/YouTube/TikTok implement, competitive pressure forces parity.
     

THE PAYOFF
 

  • Users: money, transparency, control.

  • Platforms: better data quality, clearer consent, reduced legal risk.

  • Society: an attention market that prices human time ethically instead of treating it as a free raw material.
     

CALL TO ACTION
 

For More information about UDR contact me at:
              
                info@pandesvc.com
 


#DigitalRights #DataOwnership #UserRoyalties #BigTech #Innovation #FinTech
 

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