Online privacy: A blockchain, general data protection conundrum

The very technology that sought to maintain the integrity of data is at odds with the laws that endeavours to protect personal data

The Holy Grail for both blockchain and the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) enacted by the European Union remains the control of user upon her own data. However, the implications of the use of blockchain on data ownership, control, and its monetisation conflicts with the GDPR in its implementation in two significant ways.

Identification of data controller

First, under the GDPR, a data controller is assumed to be a centralised authority responsible for determining the purposes/means for the processing of personal data. In a permissioned blockchain, there may exist a centralised authority that can control the way the data is fed and