Blockchain to give people more control about their data

Blockchain to give people more control about their data

DECODE is a project exploring and piloting new technologies that give people more control over how they store, manage and use personal data generated online. It will use blockchain technology to create tools that will give people ownership of the data which they and the devices they own generate, in order to respond to concerns about losing control of personal information on the internet.

As a result, the project will enable people to share their data with innovators, start-ups, NGOs, cooperatives, and local communities, who will have the opportunity to build apps and services to meet their needs and those of the wider community.

Currently, four pilot projects are being developed in Amsterdam and Barcelona, focused on the themes of the Internet of Things, open democracy and the sharing economy. The Amsterdam pilot projects are a new register of information about short-term holiday rentals that will make it easier to see if flats are being rented out legally, and the expansion of a digital platform that shares news, events and opportunities to borrow and exchange projects and services.

The Barcelona pilot projects are an initiative to allow citizen-generated data from different sources to be brought together, and a project that will help people use noise sensors to gather data that will influence decisions taken by the city council.

Project in brief

• Total budget: EUR 5million funding from the EU’s Horizon
2020 research and innovation programme.
• Period: 2017 – 2019
• Countries involved: Spain (coordinator),
France, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK

So far up to EUR 56 million has been allocated by the EU to blockchain-related projects.

Meet and share your experience with professionals engaged in harnessing the potential of Blockchain for international development at the first Blockchain for Development Forum to unfold in Southeastern Europe. The event is scheduled for November 7th, 2018, and is due to take place at Opera Plaza Hotel in Cluj, Romania.

Original source: European Commission 
Published on 9 April 2018