Design and Implementation of a Blockchain-based Consent Management System

TL;DR

This paper presents a permissioned blockchain system for consent management that enables users to control their private data, aligning with GDPR principles, through a Hyperledger Fabric implementation.

Contribution

It introduces a novel blockchain-based consent management system with a government-defined policy, demonstrating privacy by design principles and practical implementation.

Findings

Successfully implemented a Hyperledger Fabric prototype

Aligns with GDPR and privacy by design principles

Provides user-controlled data consent management

Abstract

A blockchain is a distributed ledger forming a distributed consensus on a history of transactions. It is the underlying technology for the Bitcoin cryptocurrency, but there are many applications beyond the financial sector. With built-in security and removal of the need for third party trust, blockchain has started to see some use within contract applications among other things. In this paper, we present the design and implementation of a permissioned-based blockchain third party consent management system, whose policy can be decided by a government agency. We have constructed a proof of concept implementation using Hyperledger Fabric to provide a service that allows end-users to control and consent to who manages their private information. We believe our solution meets the guiding principles of EU General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR. While our performance and usability evaluation are limited, our solution design and its implementation meet the 7 foundational principles of privacy by design.