Big Tech firms are extracting staggering value from the personal data of ordinary internet users, with new research claiming companies could earn up to £194,000 over the digital lifetime of every person in the UK.

The report, published by Web3 Foundation, lays bare the scale of the modern data economy as artificial intelligence companies race to hoover up online behaviour, personal content and search activity to train increasingly powerful AI systems.

Your Clicks Are Now Corporate Gold

The analysis found that every search query, online purchase, social media post, location signal and uploaded image contributes to a growing commercial ecosystem worth billions.

For years, tech firms primarily used data to fuel targeted advertising. But the report warns the industry has entered a new phase, with personal information now becoming the “lifeblood” of AI development.

Companies including Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta and Anthropic are estimated to generate up to £1,000 a year from a single internet user through data-driven systems.

AI Boom Raises New Privacy Fears

Bill Laboon, vice president of technical operations at Web3 Foundation, warned many people still do not realise how extensively their digital activity is being harvested.

He said even everyday interactions with AI tools — including prompts typed into chatbots or accepting spell-check suggestions — may be feeding commercial training models behind the scenes.

The report argues that while users create enormous value, they are increasingly excluded from ownership or control over the systems their data helped build.

Silicon Valley’s Power Surge Intensifies Scrutiny

The findings land as AI firms and chipmakers dominate global markets. Nvidia became the first company to hit a $5 trillion valuation last year after striking major AI partnerships, while Apple and Microsoft have surged beyond $4 trillion valuations.

Critics say the explosive growth of AI has outpaced public understanding, regulation and transparency. With personal data now central to the next technological arms race, pressure is mounting for tighter oversight and greater user control over how digital lives are monetised.

Tech giants earn up to £194,000 from data of each UK internet user, study finds

Yet another heads up for all those who 'have nothing to hide'

sleep walking into a dystopian digital panopticon... 'it's so convenient' and 'free' 🤣

by the time they wake up (if ever) it will be far too late for all of us.

Edited May 25May 25 by johng

They never got my consent!

47 minutes ago, unblocktheplanet said:

They never got my consent!

It was buried in the reams of legalise gobbledegook that no one reads when setting up the

'free' gmail account or the 'free' Facebook account or the 'free' Line,Instagram,WhatsApp,X

etc etc you either agree to the tracking and surveillance or don't use the service at all

so we do have a choice but it's called 'Hobson's choice'

Edited May 25May 25 by johng

double post

Edited May 25May 25 by johng

5 minutes ago, johng said:

It was buried in the reams of legalise gobbledegook that no one reads when setting up the

'free' gmail account or the 'free' Facebook account or the 'free' Line,Instagram,WhatsApp,X

etc etc you either agree to the tracking and surveillance or don't use the service at all

so we do have a choice but it's called 'Hobson's choice'

If you're not paying for the product.....you're the product.

Could we ask them to go halfer's ,as it is my data , did not know i was

worth that much to anyone ..

regards worgeordie

1 minute ago, blaze master said:

If you're not paying for the product.....you're the product.

Exactly and ties in nicely with the 'I have nothing to hide' crowd gleefully promoting

the freebies that these altruistic companies provide to humanity from the goodness of their hearts 🤣

Edited May 25May 25 by johng

1 minute ago, worgeordie said:

Could we ask them to go halfer's ,as it is my data , did not know i was

worth that much to anyone ..

regards worgeordie

Yes, actually you can.

https://gener8ads.com/

Their pitch on Dragon's Den was superb:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8usz6i07qYs

2 minutes ago, josephbloggs said:

Yes, actually you can.

I would much rather not be tracked and traced in the first place..the above scheme only encourages more data disclosure IMHO

8 minutes ago, johng said:

I would much rather not be tracked and traced in the first place..the above scheme only encourages more data disclosure IMHO

No, it allows you to turn off all tracking and ads. Or, if you prefer, you can allow cookies and tracking and they split the revenue with you.

The Dragon's Den clip explains it.

But up to you. I'm not selling it or pushing it, just someone asked if there is a way to "go halves" (in jest) and I said yes there actually is.

Edited May 25May 25 by josephbloggs

39 minutes ago, johng said:

It was buried in the reams of legalise gobbledegook that no one reads when setting up the

'free' gmail account or the 'free' Facebook account or the 'free' Line,Instagram,WhatsApp,X

etc etc you either agree to the tracking and surveillance or don't use the service at all

so we do have a choice but it's called 'Hobson's choice'

Right, we always click Agree. My beef is that every browser fails to show up torrent results, e.g., Gladiator.torrent.

Would like to find a more cooperative browser! (Free, of course!)

I do like cookies: Mrs. Fields! <sigh> gone from Thailand...

7 minutes ago, josephbloggs said:

I'm not selling it or pushing it, just someone asked if there is a way to "go halves" (in jest) and I said yes there actually is.

Yes I understand that and was not 'knocking' you just saying I think it may result in even more tracking and tracing due to the monetary incentive that may entice desperate people to to sell their souls even more..I suppose there may also be an opportunity to set up multiple 'personalities' on many devices and make a living feeding them AI slop ??

5 minutes ago, unblocktheplanet said:

My beef is that every browser fails to show up torrent results, e.g., Gladiator.torrent.

for torrents all you need is this URL https://piratebayproxy.info/

any browser will do

and do try the search engine https://duckduckgo.com/ too instead of the 'googleplex'

19 minutes ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Right, we always click Agree. My beef is that every browser fails to show up torrent results, e.g., Gladiator.torrent.

Would like to find a more cooperative browser! (Free, of course!)

You should use Brave browser. As for torrents. If you'd like I have an invite to a free private tracker.

Edited May 25May 25 by blaze master

If you're not paying for the product.....you're the product.

I'm wondering when companies are going to snap to the fact that I'm not worth it? Sneaking advertisements in front of me isn't going to increase anyone's revenues by $200K USD over my lifetime.

Meta took in $201 Billion last year. That's $25USD for every man, woman and child in the world, most of whom have a pittance to spend. It's probably closer to $100USD for every western eyeball with actual money. And that's just Meta. Add Google, Microsoft, Twitter..., ...

I get the sense that it's a case of nobody daring to be left behind in the battle for our eyeballs. Kinda like the Emperor's New Clothes.

And don't even get me started on the $trillions being "invested" in AI data farms and the associated power structure. Sure, it's new and it's zoomy. And it represents the biggest investment that mankind has ever made on anything. But I'm with a lot of the pundits that are forecasting a huge crash. It may be amazing, but it won't pay out. That's a lot of money to create amazing memes.