Data privacy must be protected and seen as a human right: Satya Nadella

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said on Thursday that data privacy must be seen as a human right that should have full transparency and needs to be protected.

He was speaking at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Summit 2020, where he further said that the huge data being used with consent is for the good of the society.

During a conversation with WEF founder and executive chairman Klaus Schwab, Nadella also favoured a debate on CEO pay and all kinds of remuneration, including return on capital.

Asked what was his recipe for doing good and at the same time doing well as the most valuable company in the world, Nadella said, “It comes down to having that core business design: when you do well, the world around you does well."

On privacy, he said data dignity is crucial and the next level of work is not just privacy, but one should be able to control how one’s data is used in the world.

“What if the consumer benefited from their data as well as advertisers? More work needs to be done around data dignity - and new business models in the 2020s," he said.