How to increase data privacy through blockchain technology?
One of the greatest challenges of our time is the protection and management of our data. We are becoming increasingly sensitive about how our personal data is handled, and rightly so, as the current social media landscape has proven time and again in recent years that there are major gaps in this area. The new social media platform, xHumanity, which is based on blockchain technology, could bring further innovations in privacy, which we will explore in this article.
Privacy issues of the 21st century
Data is one of the greatest commodities today. We already generate an incredible amount of data every day (2.5 quintillion bytes), and as the Internet of Things devices continues to evolve, this value will increase exponentially in the future. This makes personal data management and data storage security a burning issue in the online space.
Tightening data protection regulations has long been on the agenda, but recent events have confirmed that the field is ripe for comprehensive reform. The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the U.S. Data Privacy Protection Act ( CCPA), written with similar rigor, define and regulate the processing of personal data.
In particular, the following areas are affected:
● Transparency regarding the scope of personal data
● Data exchange between companies and users
● Data exchange between companies
● Advertising
● Right of disposal over data and the possibilities and obligations of data controllers.
The regulations are clear, but there are still serious gaps in how data controllers are inspected and how the necessary level of security is provided.
How blockchain improves data security but confronts regulation
A blockchain is essentially a shared, non-replicable digital ledger (peer-to-peer), a database that contains a single, up-to-date transaction list for all users. Blockchain technology allows individual users to transfer any value to each other over the Internet or create any document or contract between them. All this happens without the involvement of a third party, confidentially, securely, automatically, and in near real-time.
The blockchain is immutable, which means that no data can be deleted from the system. However, it is also capable of deleting personal data at the user’s request, as required by GDPR regulations.
xHumanity’s solution for GDPR-compliant data handling
Based on the above, blockchain-based software environments will soon run into problems when users ask data controllers to delete their data. xHumanity’s solution for a win-win scenario:
● xHumanity enables decentralized identities: self-managed identities hold that individuals should have control over their own personal data and determine how it is shared with others.
● With a zero-knowledge proofs algorithm that can be used to access permissible data without revealing identity.
● The xHumanity app does not ask for personal information in order to use it.
● End-to-end encrypted communication: the difference between xHumanity and the current messaging app landscape is that xHumanity does not require users’ phone numbers to provide access to its services and features.
As privacy and data handling will remain hot topics for the next few years, xHumanity plans to further address the issue, and use blockchain technology to create a secure, independent, and fake news-free social media platform. For further functions and features available on xHumanity, check out our website.
