Absolutely. I think the difficulties in ensuring the data owner gets paid properly highlight the fact that gathering this data needs to be approved by the data owner and can't just be done willy nilly. Data is a valuable resource, although in the most part intangible. It's this intangibility that has given data hearders the impression its up for grabs. The whole system needs strick rules to protect people's data wealth and not to mention privacy.

Hm. Not a bad idea actually. Just a percentage of the revenues. It would never be any kind of significant income stream for any of us, but it would basically torpedo their entire business model, which relies on being very low-cost to remain profitable.

Gonna have to either outmaneuver or out-punch Amazon, google and Zuckerberg all together, though, in addition to the whole slew of medium and bit players in the game.

I think you'd need nothing shy of a global democratic movement to have much of a shot at any long-term results from this strategy. Gonna make Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street look like casual block parties.

"By clicking here you agree to the terms of service [which expressly state that in exchange for receiving the service without charge or at discount rate, you wave any rights to royalties on any personal information collected]" or something to that effect.

As long as users willingly participate, the only way to solve this problem is to educate users about the dangers. It's a very similar situation as cigarettes. Banning cigarettes doesn't work because then users will just willingly circumvent the ban, possibly turning to black or grey markets.

Only if you pay money to use their product yourself.

Consumer: I like your product. Can I use it?
Company: Sure thing! It's free but we're going to take your data and sell it.
Consumer: Okay!
. . . Consumer: Hey, you're selling that data I told you you could sell as long as I can use your product for free! You should give me commission.

Me: Don't use things that sell your data. Start by deleting the apps from your phone in favor of the web version. Make sure to decline allowing websites and services to track your usage. It's not perfect, but it's a start.
What should be even more concerning at the moment is the Mozilla report that came out reporting that every car company is now extracting more of your personal information than TikTok or Facebook. https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/blog/privacy-nightmare-on-wheels-every-car-brand-reviewed-by-mozilla-including-ford-volkswagen-and-toyota-flunks-privacy-test/

According to Mozilla research, popular global brands — including BMW, Ford, Toyota, Tesla, Kia, and Subaru — can collect deeply personal data such as sexual activity, immigration status, race, facial expressions, weight, health and genetic information, and where you drive. Researchers found data is being gathered by sensors, microphones, cameras, and the phones and devices drivers connect to their cars, as well as by car apps, company websites, dealerships, and vehicle telematics. Brands can then share or sell this data to third parties. Car brands can also take much of this data and use it to develop inferences about a driver’s intelligence, abilities, characteristics, preferences, and more.