Semantic Technology based Usage Control for Decentralized Systems

Abstract: The sharing of data and digital assets in a decentralized settling is associated with various legislative challenges, including, but not limited to, the need to adhere to legal requirements with respect to privacy (e.g. data protection legislation) and copyright (e.g. copyright legislation). In order to enable software platform providers to manage data and digital assets appropriately and to provide more control to data and digital asset owners, usage control technologies could be used to make sure that consumers handle data according to privacy preferences, licenses, regulatory requirements, among others. In this research proposal, we explore the application of usage control in decentralized environments. In particular, we address the challenges related to the specification of usage control policies, the enforcement of the respective policies, and the usability of the tools that are used to administer them.