There is a battle going on among tech giants, and it has everything to do with data. On one side, you have Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL). The consumer technology giant doesn’t really use personal user data, and instead makes money off of selling consumers hardware products at steep price points.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has recently talked up his company’s ability to make money without monetizing data. He has also attacked other companies who do make money through data monetization.

On the other side, you have those companies Tim Cook is attacking. These companies include Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), Twitter (NYSE:TWTR

), Snap (NYSE:SNAP) and many, many more. These are digital advertising giants that provide a service for free, and do so by monetizing user data at a very personal level.

Cook and others think this is wrong. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg thinks its perfectly fine, and that what’s actually wrong is AAPL selling $1,000 iPhones.

Who is right in this argument?

To be frank, I think the answer is obvious. Data is good, and data is the future. The Facebook business model is much more ideal and beneficial to all than the AAPL business model.

Granted, the Facebook business model is not without its flaws. We have seen those flaws very clearly over the past year. But, as opposed to trying to destroy the Facebook business model, regulators should try to improve it.

After all, if we can get to a world where data is optimally shared and monetized yet also secured and safe from bad actors, then we have entered a world wherein everyone from consumers to brands will win.

Data Is the Future, and That’s a Good Thing

Amid all this talk about how Facebook and Google’s hoarding of data is eroding the consumer’s privacy, the media has lost sight of just how useful and beneficial data actually is.

Let’s say we have a 1,000 use cases of personal consumer data being used by Facebook or Google. Out of the 1,000 use cases, 999 of them will yield beneficial outcomes for both consumers and brands.

Consumers get relevant ads about products and services that they actually care about, are introduced to new content and experiences that excite them, and receive more relevant and improved product and service offerings from brands.

Brands, meanwhile, get to connect with their core audience more effectively, can introduce new ideas to that core audience rather quickly, and can leverage data to create more relevant products and services. Win-win.

And, that isn’t to mention that consumers get ad-supported services of tremendous value like Facebook, Google, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, Roku Channel, and many more for free.

Only one time of those 1,000 use cases will you get a bad actor. Someone comes in and uses the data in a malicious way. That is no good, and it’s a serious risk to the Facebook and Google business models. With all the data those companies have, if that data gets compromised, the resulting impact could be meaningful.

So, for every 1,000 use cases you have of the for-free, ad-supported Facebook and Google business models, you have 999 cases of positive outcomes and 1 case of negative outcomes.

It doesn’t make sense to try to eradicate this business model based on one bad apple. Instead, it makes far more sense to improve the business model to eliminate that one bad apple.

I have faith that logic will ultimately win out here. It doesn’t make sense for us to go back to an era where currency is the only currency, and therefore, consumers have to pay for everything.

It makes much more sense for us to move forward to an era where currency takes many forms, including data, and consumers can pay for things in their data, which is ultimately much more valuable for brands and much less costly for consumers.

Bottom Line on AAPL vs Facebook & Google

The dynamics surrounding data-sharing are, perhaps not surprisingly, greatly misunderstood by older generations. In my experience, younger generations seem to understand the benefits of data-sharing, and don’t really see sharing their data as that big of a cost, especially relative to the alternative of paying for ad-supported services like Facebook and Google.

As such, while there might be some near-term noise, I think the long-term fate of data has already been decided by the youth. Data sharing is here to stay, and ultimately, the Facebook and Google business models will be improved with security and transform into the global gold standard for business.

As of this writing, Luke Lango was long AAPL, FB, and GOOG.