Privacy and Trust

Reading the article, "The Intersection of Trust and Privacy in the Sharing Economy," by Joseph W. Jerome and Benedicte Dambrine, a couple chords were struck with me. It was very interesting to look at for one, because it brought to light some issues that we talk about a lot, but never really try and solve. For instance, most of us know total privacy is almost nonexistent, especially online, yet we never really question why that is or if it is absolutely necessary anyway.
The main point that the article really seemed to hit on, at least as I read it, was the focus on trust. I found that particularly intriguing because it made so much sense but it was a concept I had never really considered. I strongly agreed with their point that these Sharing Economy platforms operate based on consumer trust in them. I thought it was especially true when they mentioned that the greater the transparency of the company, the more trust consumers had in that company.
Consumers are not just going to hand over personal information to just anyone. They have to trust that their information is used in a proper, ethical way, in the same way that the company has to trust in the consumer that they are in fact who they say they are.
The main thing I want to talk about is the part of the article where they mention how the two different companies, Uber and Airbnb, took different approaches to try build on this idea of trust and safety.
I personally thought Airbnb's method of verifying users was preferable. I thought it was a good way to know where exactly you would be sleeping or if you were hosting, you would know who you were allowing into your home. I actually felt it was a good idea. However, I hadn't considered some of the downsides, such as not having enough Facebook friends. It did seem a little much to require something like that.
Now in the case of Uber, their idea made a lot of sense to me, even though it seemed to bother a lot of other people. Being able to rate both drivers and customers is a great idea I think. If a customer is consistently late or does not show up or is disrespectful, then I think other drivers have the right to know and, in turn, refuse service to these people. Now there is certainly gray area, because some people may be quicker to hand out poor grades for particularly minor offenses. And, for instance, what counts as tardy for one driver or customer, may not count as tardy to someone else. So I may not agree with how some people use the rating system, but I do support the idea in theory.
There just needs to be some middle ground that can easily verify who people are without having them give up sensitive information. The information provided also needs to be handled ethically. If these do not happen, then trust cannot be built between platform and consumer, and then, the Sharing Economy would collapse.