Social networks store a considerable amount of personal data, which are also a source of information for business. To comply with users’ privacy rights, all social networks allow users to select the level of privacy they desire. However, what occurs if the privacy choices of a user are modified unilaterally by the social network? The privacy settings chosen by the user are stored by the social network, which acts as a privileged party, which could tamper with the user's choices at any time. This paper addresses this problem and proposes a decentralized approach to manage the privacy settings of a user. Any change in the privacy settings of a social network user is validated by a smart contract to ensure that it is compliant with users’ expectations. The proposed solution has been implemented as an Ethereum-based decentralized application to validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

A Blockchain-based approach for matching desired and real privacy settings of social network users

Lax G.
;
Russo A.;
2021-01-01

Abstract

Social networks store a considerable amount of personal data, which are also a source of information for business. To comply with users’ privacy rights, all social networks allow users to select the level of privacy they desire. However, what occurs if the privacy choices of a user are modified unilaterally by the social network? The privacy settings chosen by the user are stored by the social network, which acts as a privileged party, which could tamper with the user's choices at any time. This paper addresses this problem and proposes a decentralized approach to manage the privacy settings of a user. Any change in the privacy settings of a social network user is validated by a smart contract to ensure that it is compliant with users’ expectations. The proposed solution has been implemented as an Ethereum-based decentralized application to validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
2021
Accountability
DApp
Ethereum
Facebook
GDPR
Instagram
smart contract
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
Lax_2021_j.ins_Blockchain_editor.pdf

non disponibili

Descrizione: Versione editoriale
Tipologia: Versione Editoriale (PDF)
Licenza: Copyright dell'editore
Dimensione 1.42 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
1.42 MB Adobe PDF   Visualizza/Apri   Richiedi una copia
Lax_2021_j.ins_Blockchain_Post.pdf

Open Access dal 27/01/2023

Descrizione: Post-print
Tipologia: Documento in Post-print
Licenza: Creative commons
Dimensione 508.38 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
508.38 kB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12318/94897
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 18
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 9
social impact