Berners-Lee takes on personal data challenge
The inventor of the world wide web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, wants to give people more control over their data.
Val Skelton
He has announced an open source project (Solid) that aims to fix issues by helping people put all their personal data in one place. A new company (Inrupt) has been launched to build Solid’s infrastructure.
"The web has evolved into an engine of inequity and division, swayed by powerful forces who use it for their own agendas…Solid [would] restore balance to the web because it meant people never lost control of their data. People want apps that help them do what they want and need to do without spying on them”.
Solid will offer people secure silos (‘pods’) into which people deposit data. They would then decide who can access which data. Gathering data into one silo should also make it easier for apps to analyse it and deliver benefits.
Source: BBC.