The "MesInfos" self-data pilot project draws its first conclusions after the launch of the experiment.
History of Self Data
The concept of Self Data was born during the 4 years of work that the FING and its partners (EDF, Enedis, GrDF, MAIF, Orange, Grand Lyon, Cozy Cloud) have conducted on the subject of personal data and its return by organizations to individuals. This is one of the answers to the issues of trust between individuals who create data and the organizations that hold it. "There isno shortage of initiatives and tools related to empowering individuals with their own data: Self Data in France, Mydata in Finland, Midata in England, Smart Disclosure in the United States, VRM (Vendor RelationShip Management), Cloud Personnel, Quantified Self, PDS (Personal Data Store), PIMS (Personal Information Management System), Customer Commons..."
On the pilot site, the definition of Self Data is given: becoming the actor of one's personal data. No longer content to produce it for others to use, but to regain control of it and use it for one's own purposes. We define Self Data as "the production, exploitation and sharing of personal data by individuals, under their control and for their own purposes".Structuring of the ecosystem, legal evolution, appropriation of tools...
The first observation is that the subject is complex and still raises many questions:"We have already learned a lot, especially about all the challenges and difficulties inherent in implementing the return of personal data for organizations. But much remains to be learned, since most of the pilot testers are not yet officially invested."Drawing the framework for data restitution in concrete terms remains a challenge
The experimentation required spending time on the technical aspects of the implementation: "Identifying the data, setting up the restitution processes - often developing APIs or relying on existing APIs, documenting them to make them 'reusable by third parties' is a long project in itself."Still very prospective, the approach questions each player's positioning: "But working on the restitution itself also means working on the overall framework (legal and technical), clarifying responsibilities in the data transfer chain, reassuring holders about the platform for making data available, particularly in terms of security ...It is a leap into the unknown for organizations that are just discovering Self Data. The "data" project is complex, and alone took nearly six months to bear fruit."
Mobilize the ecosystem by bringing out user cases and their economic model
The Self Data ecosystem - beyond the pilot, in France and internationally - is still in its infancy. Self Data platforms and services need data to develop and operate, and data owners are often waiting for use cases or even business models to start using data, which limits the structuring of this market to date.Making Self Data accessible to all
Since the right to portability will concern all citizens, the issue of the ergonomics of Self Data tools for the general public is another determining factor: "How to make Self Data and the personal cloud intelligible, appropriable, easy to use? It was necessary for Cozy to evolve its interface, radically, during the pilot, in order to address a wider audience."Dialogue with the RGPD
The RGPD (General Data Protection Regulation) introduces significant regulatory changes in the area of personal data, including a right to data portability. "Article 20" was therefore the subject of many debates - sometimes paradoxical - between the actors involved in the MesInfos pilot, and more globally in the Self Data community: should the data perimeter and the restitution modalities be aligned with what would be this right? Does testing things in the pilot mean jurisprudence in terms of personal data restitution? How to think now about data portability modalities sized for more than 3,000 people, since the right to portability concerns all citizens as of 2018?"The collective finally decided to continue the reflection on the application of the right to portability but independently of the MesInfos pilot.
Scaling up will depend on everyone's commitment
The MesInfos pilot will have to continue its numerous projects, on which it appears to be one of the world's pioneers: "There is still a lot to do, particularly with regard to service prototypes; the next few months will also be a time for feedback, research, teaching, documentation and formalization. ... The "passage of course" will depend, beyond the progress of the pilot itself, on the structuring of the ecosystem that we mentioned and on the long-term commitment of data holders. In this, the right to portability could well help Self Data, opening the door to a whole new market, if everyone plays along."Référence :
