Abstract
Although blockchain-based digital services promise trust, accountability, and transparency, multiple paradoxes between blockchains and GDPR have been highlighted in the recent literature. Some of the recent literature also proposed possible solutions to these paradoxes. This article aims to conduct a systematic literature review on GDPR compliant blockchains and synthesize the findings. In particular, the goal was to identify 1) the GDPR articles that have been explored in prior literature; 2) the relevant research domains that have been explored, and 3) the research gaps. Our findings synthesized that the blockchains relevant GDPR articles can be categorized into six major groups, namely data deletion and modification (Article 16, 17, and 18), protection by design by default (Article 25), responsibilities of controllers and processors (Article 24, 26, and 28), consent management (Article 7), data processing principles and lawfulness (Article 5,6 and 12), and territorial scope (Article 3). We also found seven research domains where GDPR compliant blockchains have been discussed, which include IoT, financial data, healthcare, personal identity, online data, information governance, and smart city. From our analysis, we have identified a few key research gaps and present a future research direction.
Highlights
Blockchain is based on a distributed and synchronized digital database for recording information
Two of the most evident challenges described by the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) are [4], [5]: The associate editor coordinating the review of this manuscript and approving it for publication was Sathish Kumar
We observe that articles regarding blockchain and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) first began in 2017
Summary
Blockchain is based on a distributed and synchronized digital database for recording information. In 2018, the European Unions’ (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which seeks to harmonize data protection laws across the EU states and aims to give back control of data to its owner, came in place [3]. This raised multiple paradoxes between blockchain and GDPR. When a piece of valid information is recorded in a specific block, no one in the network can change or alter it. This immutable nature of blockchain makes it more secure than other methods [16]. Blockchain provides transparency and trust among the stakeholders [17], [18]
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