Launch of World’s First Global Private Cloud Network Kick Starts the Internet Privacy Revolution
— Milestone in Privacy Movement Finally Shifts Balance of Digital Power & Revenue to Consumers
LONDON, June 24, 2014 – Respect Network has launched public registration for the world’s first global network for trusted private data sharing today in London City Hall in a move that is set to restore privacy on the Internet. Over 70 founding partners from London to Tel Aviv and from Seattle to Sydney have joined the effort, bringing significant scale and expertise to the development of this new network.
Respect Network CEO Drummond Reed explains, “Protection of our digital life is the civil rights issue of our time. Being able to choose what happens with our private information on the Internet is something we should all have the right to do — for our sakes, and for the sake of future generations. Now is the time to act.”
“Respect Network takes a fundamentally different approach to ownership and use of information than existing social networks and cloud providers. It puts control back into the hands of individuals and not only gives them the choice of how their information is used, but compensates them for their value. No longer are people unwittingly the product. For GBP 17 / $25 (USD) consumers can purchase a lifetime membership and receive their own lifetime cloud, safe in the knowledge that their digital rights are back in their control.”
The goal of the Respect Network First Million Member Campaign is to raise USD $25 million to grow the network. Of this, USD $8 million will go towards a Development Grant Program to fund development of new applications and service for the network. Said Mr. Reed, “It’s a global ‘cloudfunding’ that enables people to invest directly in the future of Internet privacy — and reap the reward of starting to capture the value of their personal data and relationships.”
As part of their membership, every individual member receives a lifetime “cloud name” that begins with an equals sign, e.g. =your.name. This is a fully portable, private digital address for life. “Cloud names will become the symbol of this shift towards privacy and personal control on the Internet,” said Mr. Reed.
By following international principles of Privacy by Design, the Respect Network turns the existing centralised social network model upside down. Instead, every person or business on the network has their own private cloud from the provider of their choice. All sharing is over private peer-to-peer connections between members — there is no middleman. This allows individuals and businesses anywhere in the world to share private data as easily as they can share public data on Google, Facebook and other cloud providers, but with the assurance that their privacy will always be respected.
The Respect Network has been in development for over three years by leading Internet architects and founding partner companies including Neustar, the first real-time provider of cloud-based information services and data analytics. Other UK-based founding partners include: Allfiled, Ctrl-Shift, CitizenMe, Digital Animal, miiCard, mydex, MyProfessionalID, Paoga, Social Safe, SmarterComplaints and The Customers’ Voice.
Further events are planned in San Francisco 30 June – 1 July, Sydney 7-8 July, Tel Aviv 15-16 July and Berlin 21-22 July.
ATTENDANCE IS BY INVITATION. MEDIA AND INDUSTRY MEMBERS ARE INVITED TO REGISTER THEIR INTEREST HERE.
About Respect Network
Founded in 2011 and now a coalition of 71 Founding Partners, the Respect Network is the world’s first global network for trusted private data sharing. It enables people and businesses to share sensitive private data like medical records, financial records, insurance records, and family records just as easily as they can share data publicly on social networks like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ today. Visit www.respectnetwork.com and info.respectnetwork.com.
