by Marco Scialdone
In boardrooms across the globe, a paradigm shift is underway. No longer can businesses view data privacy and consumer rights as mere compliance checkboxes: they have become cornerstones of modern business strategy. An increasingly regulated and consumer-driven landscape is forcing companies to adopt consumer-centric business models built on transparency, trust, and empowerment. Forward-thinking executives recognize that empowering consumers with greater control over their data isn’t just an ethical or legal obligation, but a strategic advantage that can define market leadership. Initiatives like the Consumer Empowerment Project (CEP) are emerging as catalysts in this shift, fostering dialogue between companies, policymakers, and consumers to ensure digital rights and business innovation progress hand in hand.
The shift toward consumer-centric business models
Regulatory and market forces are together driving a decisive shift toward consumer-centric business practices. Major privacy regulations such as the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) have raised the bar on data responsibility, with strict rules and hefty penalties that grabbed executives’ attention. These laws affirm that consumers own their personal data and have rights to transparency, choice, and erasure, compelling companies to fundamentally rethink how they collect, use, and share information. Crucially, regulators aren’t just enforcing rules: they’re actively highlighting the business benefits of proper data stewardship beyond mere compliance. In other words, doing right by consumer data is not just about avoiding fines, it’s increasingly seen as good business.
Equally important is the change in consumer expectations. Today’s customers are more informed and vigilant about their digital rights. Empowering consumers with control over their data isn’t just the “right thing to do”, it creates tangible business advantages. First and foremost, it builds brand trust and reputation. Companies known for respecting privacy and user rights enjoy stronger goodwill and customer loyalty.
In fact, trust has become a competitive differentiator in many industries: if customers don’t trust you, they won’t share their information and lack of data will hinder your product development and personalization efforts.
Empowered consumers are also more loyal. By giving users clear rights and options – for example, easy privacy settings, transparent data policies, or value exchanges for data – businesses signal respect, which encourages long-term loyalty. Studies consistently show that brand trust correlates with loyalty and revenue. In one global survey, 81% of consumers said trust is a deciding factor in their purchase decisions. Earning that trust by championing consumer empowerment can therefore translate into a real competitive edge. The takeaway for executives is clear: empowering your customers and safeguarding their data isn’t a cost center, but a value driver. It strengthens your brand, deepens customer relationships, and creates a foundation for sustainable innovation.
The role of the Consumer Empowerment Project (CEP)
In navigating this new landscape, organizations don’t have to go it alone. Multi-stakeholder initiatives like the Consumer Empowerment Project (CEP) are emerging as valuable platforms for collaboration and thought leadership. The CEP, launched in 2022 as a partnership between Euroconsumers and Google, provides a neutral space where consumer organizations, industry leaders, and civil society can come together to discuss and address key issues around consumer digital rights. By bringing these diverse stakeholders to the same table, CEP fosters the kind of meaningful dialogue that is often missing in debates about data and technology. Its mission is simple yet powerful: empower consumers through dialogue – helping people understand their rights and helping businesses and policymakers understand consumer expectations. This collaborative approach ensures a more balanced conversation about digital policies, one that considers the needs of consumers while also recognizing the operational realities companies face.
Crucially, CEP is positioning itself as a thought leader and facilitator in this space. It promotes open communication and active engagement as the cornerstone for a better consumer environment. As Antonio Balhunas, Executive Director of Euroconsumers, put it, “fostering meaningful dialogue is the cornerstone of a modern consumer organization” – a principle CEP embraces to improve the market for everyone.
In practice, CEP drives multi-stakeholder discussions through multiple initiatives that bring together policy experts and business leaders to debate emerging digital policy issues from all angles. CEP has also initiated research like the Consumer Digital Empowerment Index, a tool comparing how well digital services across countries empower users in their daily lives. By generating such insights and facilitating discussions, CEP helps companies stay ahead of regulatory trends and public expectations. It’s a forum to proactively shape best practices around data transparency, AI ethics, online safety, and more – before these issues become crises or mandates. For corporations, engaging with CEP is an opportunity to voice concerns, learn from consumer advocates, and demonstrate a commitment to responsible innovation. In short, CEP exemplifies how industry and consumer representatives can co-create solutions, building corporate trust through transparency and collaboration.
Call to action for businesses
The message for C-level executives is clear. Consumer empowerment is not a trend that will fade, it is the future of business in the digital age. Companies that proactively embrace transparency, data ethics, and user control will be rewarded by the market; those that resist will fall behind both in customer trust and in regulatory readiness.
Now is the time for businesses to move from talk to action. This means embedding consumer-centric thinking into corporate strategy: designing products and services with privacy and choice built in, educating customers about their rights, and being accountable for how you handle data at every touchpoint.
It also means engaging with the broader ecosystem. Initiatives like the Consumer Empowerment Project offer a valuable bridge between industry, regulators, and the public. Business leaders should take a seat at the table – joining forums, working groups, and collaborations that CEP and similar projects facilitate. By participating, companies can help shape the guidelines and best practices that will govern tomorrow’s digital marketplace. Indeed, CEP actively invites businesses to contribute thought leadership and work jointly on solutions at local, national, and international levels. It’s an opportunity to showcase your organization’s commitment to consumer trust and to glean insights from peers and consumer advocates.
In an era when digital trust is paramount, empowering consumers is ultimately empowering your business. Companies that treat consumer empowerment as a strategic priority will find themselves not only on the right side of regulation, but on the leading edge of innovation and customer loyalty. The call to action is to lean into this change: make consumer empowerment part of your corporate DNA. Embrace transparency, champion digital rights, and collaborate with initiatives like CEP to navigate the path forward. Those who do will foster deeper trust, enjoy stronger stakeholder relationships, and secure a durable competitive advantage in our increasingly consumer-driven world. In the final analysis, empowering the consumer isn’t just about mitigating risks, it’s about unlocking the full promise of the digital economy for everyone.
About the author:
Marco Scialdone is the Director of the Consumer Empowerment Project (CEP) and Head of Litigation & Academic Outreach at Euroconsumers, the world’s leading consumer group in innovative information, personalized services, and consumer rights advocacy. Euroconsumers includes Test-Aankoop / Test-Achats (Belgium), Altroconsumo (Italy), DECO Proteste (Portugal), OCU (Spain), and Proteste (Brazil). Marco is also an Adjunct Professor of Digital Content and Services Law at the European University of Rome. Holding a PhD in Legal Categories and Technologies, his expertise spans consumer protection, digital regulation, and data rights. In 2018, he was appointed by the Italian government to the High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence, advising on AI policy and ethical considerations. From 2019 to 2023, he served as a board member of the Italian Permanent Advisory Committee on Copyright, contributing to national copyright strategies in the digital era. Currently, Marco is a member of the Advisory Board of the NOVA Ipsi Knowledge Center at Nova School of Law in Lisbon and serves on the Editorial Board of the Metaverse and Virtual Transformation Journal, where he explores the intersection of law, technology, and digital transformation.
