Designing for data ownership, control and regulatory compliance - for enterprises and individuals

Slides for this talk can be viewed here

Context

Personal data is all over the place - IoT, energy, public services, health, insurance, retails, apps, etc. MyData Operators is a human-centric approach where the individual is in control of how and where their data is utilized. MyData Operators is based in the European Union, where the GDPR framework of data protection is enforceable. MyData Operators framework requires such as strong regulation - where it is not only enough for protection to be there, but the individual’s data usage is based on strong principles of privacy, while still being able to use the data.

MyData Operators is a non-profit organization, headquartered in Finland. The framework is based on the vision of a fair, sustainable, and prosperous digital society through a human-centric approach to personal data. MyData Operator framework envisions this shift in the operation of a strong digital society:

1. Actionable rights.
2. Empowerment.
3. Open ecosystems

MyData Operators as Data Intermediaries

The Operators i.e., member organizations, are data intermediaries. Organizations manage the value chain of data in terms of collection, management and use of personal data. But integration of data from multiple sources is hard. But the future will have organizations offering specialized services for different parts of the data collection, management and use value chain. For such a future to manifest, there is need for common building blocks such as permission management, identity management, etc. MyData Operators - as an organization - has aggregated 41 operators from 17 different countries to develop standard practices for the operation of data intermediaries.

The core principles of the MyData Operators framework - which all the member organizations adhere to - are as follows:

1. Human-centric control of personal data
2. Individual as the point of integration
3. Individual empowerment
4. Portability: access and re-use
5. Transparency and accountability
6. Interoperability

Using examples, Vice-chair of MyData Global - Antti ‘Jogi’ Poikola - explains the framework and implementation in practice.

In the next talk, Lal Chandran of iGrant.io explains how his organization functions as a Data Intermediary under the MyData Operators framework. This talk will give the audience a case study - with code samples - on understanding data management and use frameworks under data protection regulations.

References

1. Understanding MyData Operators: https://mydata.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Understanding-Mydata-Operators-pages.pdf
2. What is the MyData Operator? - https://mydata.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Discussion-paper-MyData-operator-final.pdf