‘Self-Sovereign Identity’ management, data ownership and the future of digital identity

While ‘classical’ human identity has kept philosophers busy for millennia, ‘Digital Identity’ seems primarily machine related. Telephone numbers, E-Mail inboxes, or Internet Protocol (IP)-addresses are irrelevant to define us as human beings at first glance. However, with the omnipresence of digital space the digital aspects of identity gain importance. In our recent paper ‘Digital Identity and the Blockchain: Universal Identity Management and the concept of the ‘Self-Sovereign’ Individual’ we assess the theoretical conditions and the practical examples that establish the practice in first attempts to create self-sovereign digital identity systems. This treatment by necessity covers issues around digital identity, data ownership and privacy.