New UK Data Bill, US and EU regulating tech giants, MyData news and events

Welcome new board members of MyData Global

The new MyData Board began its work this month. Teki Akuetteh (Ms.), David Alexander, Paula Bello, Alexander Galt, Miapetra Kumpula-Natri , Michael Jaeyoung Lee , Eduardo Mercovich , Eric Pol , Schuschnig-Fowler Robert . This diverse team of experts was appointed following a thorough recruitment process and a recent election, aligning with MyData’s 2024-2026 Strategy for enhanced governance and global impact. The new board consists of leaders from four continents, bringing expertise in data privacy, digital rights, governance, and ethical data management across sectors. Learn more about board members here. Follow the board’s work on the MyData Slack #board channel.?

We’d like to take a deep bow and thank the outgoing board members Mariana Salgado , Charlie Martial NGOUNOU , Pernille Tranberg , Ana Garcia Robles , StJohn "Singe" Deakins , Ruben Verborgh , Paul Theyskens , Jean F. Queralt for their service and energy.?

Policy news

UK Data Use and Access Bill

This bill aims to unlock the vast potential of data to drive a ￡10 billion boost to the UK economy, freeing up millions of police and NHS staff hours without placing additional strain on public finances. You can review the bill and the accompanying fact sheets. Connected by Data’s Gavin Freeguard provides a useful overview that summarises the bill, explains what has changed since its former iteration (the DISD) was proposed, and rounds up links to various commentaries and press coverage.?

The European Court of Justice reinforces the EU’s efforts to regulate Big Tech.

In September, the European Court of Justice issued significant rulings against Google and Apple. Apple was ordered to pay €13 billion in back taxes to Ireland; Google was fined €2.4 billion for antitrust violations. These rulings are final and reflect the EU’s broader strategy to curb anti-competitive practices and ensure fair taxation by tech giants. Read more here. Join our networking event on competition and anti-trust on Nov 21 for in-depth discussions.

US bans subscription traps?

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) adopted a “click to cancel” rule to ensure that customers can cancel their subscriptions easier. This new rule aims to protect customers from deceptive practices with hidden subscription traps or difficulties in cancelling recurring subscriptions. Also, the FTC has taken legal action against Amazon and Adobe to address these issues. Read more here.

Governments take legal action on social media algorithms.

Besides the algorithm and clickbait defining our social media feed, AI-generated content will add to the noise and distraction. Governments are starting to make platform providers responsible for the effects of their algorithms — an important step towards holding social media platforms accountable for the societal consequences of their algorithms and an opportunity to give back user control. Read more here.

EC DSA Guidelines for children

The European Commission has announced work on Guidelines to protect and promote children’s rights in the implementation and enforcement of the Digital Markets Act. A collective of 39 experts and organisations has released a statement welcoming this work and elaborating on minimum principles and elements that the guidelines should consider.?Read more here.

Community News

Updating MyData’s Vision and Mission?

As we approach the 10 year anniversary of the first MyData White Paper, it’s time to revisit and update our vision and mission. The world has changed significantly, with advancements in regulations, AI, and digital infrastructure reshaping how we think about personal data. We’re starting an open discussion on Slack to explore these shifts and will work towards updating the MyData White Paper and Declaration in the new year. Join the conversation?and share your thoughts on what matters most!

Not too late to help test tools for big tech portability

Work is getting underway to test whether the real-time and continuous data portability tools released by Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, and Microsoft comply with their obligations under the Digital Markets Act. We’ll share our findings with the European Commission before the end of the year and again in early 2025. If you’d like to join the volunteer group of testers, send an email to [email protected].

Members' corner

Introducing new MyData organisational members?

1. Cachet

Cachet improves insurance for people and companies in the European platform economy. With a focus on micromobility users and fleets, it designs personalised digital insurance products. This provides vastly-improved insurance cover to platform workers, rideshare drivers, couriers, bike and scooter fleets, and anyone else on wheels. Discover more here.

2. DataSpace Europe Oy

DataSpace Europe is a European expert organization with over 30 years of experience in promoting the data economy. Their Tritom? service offers secure and cost-effective data intermediation, enabling data-driven innovation while ensuring control over business-critical data. Tritom? complies with EU regulations, providing a lightweight yet reliable solution for businesses to safely share data.?Discover more here.

3. Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information

The Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI) is a leading national institute in science and technology information, supporting core resources and knowledge infrastructure. KISTI fosters an open data ecosystem that drives Korea's innovative growth and enhances citizens' quality of life. Discover more here.

4. Tech Legality

Tech Legality is a women-led boutique consulting firm, founded by human rights lawyers - Emma Day and Sabine K Witting. It works with governments, UN agencies, technology companies, and (I)NGOs, to ensure that technologies are governed and deployed globally in a way that protects and respects human rights, centring the needs of children, and vulnerable and marginalised communities. Discover more here.?

5. Turing Space

Turing Space is a TrustTech startup founded by Jeff Hu in 2020, dedicating to addressing the complexity of certifications among industries worldwide. We protect over 5 million e-credentials of citizen IDs, product examination reports, traceability records, and professional certificates. More than 400 authorities and 40 governments across 10 countries issue e-credentials through us, having credential holders in 160 countries, including WHO, UNESCO, and UNHCR. Discover more here.

6. Verida

Verida is a private database storage network with confidential compute for AI. Users can securely extract data from centralised platforms, enabling private, personalised AI applications with full data ownership and control. Discover more here.

7. Yorba

The internet is noisy—too many emails, logins, and subscriptions. Yorba helps you declutter by mass unsubscribing from email, deleting old accounts, and canceling unused subscriptions. We offer a safe, private way to a calmer digital life. Read more here.

Become a MyData Member

Join the global community dedicated to empowering people with control of their data, for fair data markets and a better digital future. Become a MyData Member here.

MyData Upcoming Events

Join our upcoming events on AI and competition. Check out event details and register to save a spot here.

You can become a member easily today to unlock all member benefits! Join all?members-only events?every other Thursday. Also, We curate?opportunities and resources exclusive to MyData members every week, including links to funding, training, job opportunities, and event materials and recordings.

MyData Members-only events

Please note that the following events have limited capacity and are reserved for members only.?If you would like to take part and are interested in learning more about our?membership options, please send us an email to?[email protected] or sign up here.

Member News

MyData Task Force report on consent-based services?

The Cities Coalition for Digital Rights' Mission 2 "Providing proactive digital services that meet residents' needs" has released its final report on the MyData Task Force. This report summarizes six workshops held in 2024, where 55 experts from 11 countries collaborated to help cities implement consent-based data sharing, focusing on best practices and challenges. The workshops were led by Helsingin kaupunki – Helsingfors stad – City of Helsinki , a longstanding MyData member.

MyData Awards: Join the Community Evaluation Panel!

Want to explore the forefront of human-centric technology, business, and governance? We received over 400 MyData awards nominations, and you can help to make sense of them by reviewing a batch of 10, and be recognized as a member of our Evaluation Panel (Members only). Read more and sign up?here!

Project Corner

1. Data Spaces Support Centre

The DSSC consortium recently celebrated the release of version 1.5 of its data spaces blueprint, a flagship deliverable of the project. MyData has contributed significantly to ensure the blueprint incorporates human-centric principles. Preparations for version 2, due in March, are underway, with a focus on revising the Intermediaries and Operators building block and showcasing real-world examples where data sharing benefits individuals and communities.

2. Cyanotypes

In September, Creative Skills Week 2024 brought together over 700 participants to dive into the future of skills for the Cultural and Creative Sector and Industries. Check the recap, photos, and find out where CSW2025 will take place in the autumn newsletter.

3. NextGen

At the recent NextGen project plenary in Nice, discussions focused on building a functional mini-European Health Data Space. Experts emphasized the need for structured data governance to support NextGen’s pilot projects. The meeting highlighted key research use cases that will shape project priorities. MyData will play a crucial role in developing a machine-actionable legal and regulatory framework to integrate NextGen tools into research while maintaining ethical standards in health data usage within Data Spaces.

Check out this short interview video to learn about what the NextGen project will achieve.?

• Become a MyData Member

Join MyData Global either as an individual or an organisation, and gain access to more resources and services to help you succeed in realising a human-centric approach to personal data. Join us in creating the MyData movement.

• Sign the MyData Declaration

1708 organisations and individuals have committed to the MyData principles for ethical personal data management. It is time to publicly assert the values that drive us, and call on those who share these values to act upon them. Join us in reversing the paradigm of personal data.