Att kombinera integritet med en oförglömmande teknik? : En undersökning mellan distributed ledger technology och rätten att bli bortglömd

In todays digitalized environment we leave behind us personal data like footprints in the snow. However, unlike our physical footprints, our digital footprints do not melt away. Businesses use data to identify consumers ́ wants and needs and a massive market for data has emerged. As a result, privacy has become a critical public concern as the public becomes more distrustful of businesses excessive data collection in centralised databases. At the same time, businesses are aiming to cut costs by removing the third party used to facilitate customer data interactions. This has resulted in a search, from both the public and businesses, of new technological solutions to facilitate online interactions. One solution that has promised to revolutionize the increasingly digitalized world we live in by offering decentralized data collecting, storing and processing is Distributed ledger technology. The technology’s core features of immutability, transparency and safety, paired with its decentralized nature, promise the potential to provide its users with a secure platform without the need to rely on third parties. At the same time the core features of the technology seem to conflict with certain regulations put in place to protect consumers data privacy, such as the European data protection regulation (the GDPR). This thesis investigates and analyzes the conflict between distributed ledger technology and the requirements of the GDPR, specifically by investigating the relationship between distributed ledger technology and the right to be forgotten.