MyData

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MyData Declaration (v1.0)

The MyData Declaration (v1.0) established the normative foundation for human-centric data ecosystems by redefining the roles and rights around personal data. It shifts the paradigm from organisational control to individual empowerment, operationalised through interoperability, transparency, and user agency.

For OPENVERSE, this document serves as the ethical and structural cornerstone for its governance and data frameworks. Integrating MyData’s operator model and empowerment principles would ensure user trust, data reusability, and sovereignty across digital, XR, and AI-based environments.

Basic Identification

• Initiative / Partnership Name: MyData Global Network
• Full Title & Version: MyData Declaration v1.0
• Publication / Last Update Date: August 24, 2017
• Governing Body / Association: MyData Global (network of entrepreneurs, activists, academics, corporations, and public agencies)
• Type: Civil society and innovation movement for human-centric personal data governance
• Website / Source: https://mydata.org/participate/declaration

Strategic Orientation

• Vision Statement:

To empower individuals with control over their personal data, enabling fair, transparent, and ethical relationships with organizations while maximizing collective benefits for society.

• Core Mission / Objectives:
  • Rebalance the power asymmetry between individuals and data-collecting organizations.
  • Establish actionable rights over personal data (“one-click rights”).
  • Transition from protection to empowerment and from closed to open ecosystems.
  • Enable human-centric control and interoperability across the digital economy .
• Strategic Shifts Defined:
  1. From Formal to Actionable Rights – Make data rights practical and easy to exercise.
  2. From Data Protection to Data Empowerment – Move from defensive regulation to proactive individual control.
  3. From Closed to Open Ecosystems – Replace monopolistic data silos with interoperable ecosystems.

• Policy Alignment:

Anticipated and complements the GDPR (2018); aligns with European digital rights initiatives, data portability, and human-centric digital governance principles later embedded in the Data Governance Act and AI Act frameworks.

Technological and Thematic Priorities

Theme	Core Ideas / Mechanisms	Intended Impact
Human-Centric Data Control	Individuals decide who accesses and uses their data, how, and for how long.	Builds trust and restores autonomy.
Data Empowerment	Beyond protection: individuals use their data for self-improvement, informed decision-making, and civic participation.	Fosters innovation and agency.
Open Ecosystems	Data flows free of monopolistic choke points; competition through interoperability.	Fairer, diversified data economy.
Portability and Interoperability	Reuse and transfer of personal data across services in structured, machine-readable formats.	Enables data mobility and market fluidity.
Transparency and Accountability	Organisations disclose purposes and outcomes of data use, allowing redress and algorithmic scrutiny.	Reinforces trust and democratic oversight.

• Cross-Cutting Topics: privacy, ethics, interoperability, open standards, self-sovereign identity (SSI), accountability, data portability.
• Related Infrastructures / Platforms: Not specific to a technological platform; the declaration underpins multiple infrastructures later associated with GAIA-X, Common European Data Spaces, and Solid (Tim Berners-Lee).

Governance and Ecosystem

• Roles Defined (Diagram on p. 2):
  • Person: manages their data relationships.
  • Data Source: entity collecting or generating personal data.
  • Data Using Service: authorised consumer of personal data.
  • Operator: intermediary enabling secure data sharing without exploiting the data itself .
• Stakeholder Groups:

Individuals, developers, companies, regulators, and civil society organizations.

• Engagement Mechanisms:
  • Voluntary signature and endorsement of the Declaration.
  • Use of the Declaration to inform trust frameworks and contractual clauses.
  • Collective projects under the MyData Global network and annual conferences.
• Update Frequency: Reviewed iteratively based on feedback and new regulatory frameworks.
• Contact / Participation Info: Open membership through mydata.org; active collaboration with EU data governance initiatives.

Alignment with Virtual Worlds

Relevance to Virtual Worlds Domains:

The MyData framework provides a conceptual foundation for human-centric interoperability, trust, and governance — all core pillars for OPENVERSE’s design of virtual worlds and data-driven ecosystems.

• Alignment Points:
  • Data Sovereignty: Mirrors OPENVERSE’s need for user agency and digital ownership.
  • Interoperability and Open Standards: Reinforces the building blocks for cross-platform XR and data ecosystems.
  • Ethics and Transparency: Aligns with OPENVERSE’s governance and accountability goals for AI-driven interactions.

SRIDA Document Metadata

• Keywords / Tags: Human-centric data, interoperability, empowerment, trust, portability, transparency, privacy.
• Referenced Horizon Europe Clusters: Cluster 4 (Digital, Industry and Space), Cluster 1 (Health and Wellbeing, via personal data control).
• TRL Range: Not applicable (normative / governance framework).
• Budget or Investment Priorities: No financial framework; promotes voluntary adoption and policy alignment.
• Policy References: GDPR, ePrivacy Directive, EU Data Strategy, Artificial Intelligence Act.