Towards a personal data vault society: an interplay between technological and business perspectives

The Web is evolving more and more to a small set of walled gardens where a very small number of platforms determine the way that people get access to the Web (i.e. “log in via Facebook”). As a pushback against this ongoing centralization of data and services on the Web, decentralization efforts are taking place that move data into personal data vaults. This positioning paper discusses a potential personal data vault society and the required research steps in order to get there. Emphasis is given on the needed interplay between technological and business research perspectives. The focus is on the situation of Flanders, based on a recent announcement of the Flemish government to set up a Data Utility Company. The concepts as well as the suggested path for adoption can easily be extended, however, to other situations/regions as well.