Turn data control on its head, project recommends

The EU could boost its economies and societies by changing the way that people’s personal data are controlled, a Horizon-2020-funded project has suggested.

Giving people control of their data could radically change societies and economies for the better, an initial report published on 18 September by the Decentralised Citizen Owned Data Ecosystems (Decode) project has concluded.

People have unintentionally surrendered their online identities to a handful of big digital platforms, the report says, and the value of this data means that smaller businesses are struggling to compete. “Much of the potential value of the internet is not being realised,” according to the report.