Blockchain data cannot be deleted. So will its applications be illegal?

Since blockchain relies upon a distributed ledger system that's decentralized and immutable, it is meant to be permanent, tamper-proof record that is beyond the control of any one governing authority. This is what makes it such an attractive and useful technology. But because the data stored on the blockchain, including personal data, cannot be deleted, there's no way to exercise the right to erasure that individuals are granted under GDPR. The blockchain isn't designed to be GDPR compatible. Or rather, GDPR isn't blockchain compatible the way it's written today. 

Although European policymakers were debating and finalizing aspects of GDPR, blockchain wasn't on most people's radar. This is another example of where regulation is addressing a difficulty in the rearview mirror as opposed to looking at the road ahead. This is the nature of the most traditional regulations and illustrates how rapidly technology shifts, pivots, and morphs at a speed much greater than regulations and laws are designed to move. In this instance, while we wait around for the rules to play catch up, the question we've to ask is whether or not existing blockchain applications that store personal data are now rendered illegal in Europe until this is sorted. 

Policy needs to be as flexible as technology

Government legislation has a critical role to play in creating accountability, ensuring responsible use of data and providing enforcement mechanisms to penalize bad actors. I'm not arguing against regulation, nor am I arguing against GDPR. I'm arguing instead for a layered and cooperative approach to policymaking. We need a future flexible framework for governance that allow us to realize the advantages of data and technology while reducing harms. This is easier to say than to do. 

If our collective goal is to secure a future where we cure cancer in our lives through better medical research, improve infrastructure and service delivery in connected cities, increase crop yields to feed more individuals, better understand and predict extreme climate patterns, create durable digital identities for refugees and individuals who've no documentation of their existence, provide more immediate disaster relief in times of crisis - then we'll must use the data more than ever before to realize these benefits. Governments should work in partnership with civil society, academia, and the private sector to jointly develop policies through a process that's as dynamic as technology. Policy makers and the regulatory processes they use must be reimagined to be as nimble as the technology they seek to regulate, to be able to help create the future we all want to see.