Technologists are committed to giving control of their information to users


Technologists are committed to giving control of their information to users


Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Twitter join the Data Transfer Project, an initiative to streamline all processes on the network


Users should own their data. However, in times of 'big data', in which information, its treatment and analysis is the basis of many businesses, the slogan that information is power makes more sense than ever. But both statements do not have to be at odds.

Although the project to make the transfer of data easier is last year, it has now been when four of the largest companies (Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Twitter) have joined the Data Transfer Project (DTP), an initiative that Its objective is to make it easier for people to transfer their data among internet service providers. In other words, DTP wants users to find it easier to change from one product or service to another. For example,

Data Transfer Project is the fruit of the collaboration of several organizations and developers, who are working on the creation of a common framework with open source code. This framework will allow connecting two internet service providers in order to make a direct and uninterrupted transfer of data. "We want all people on the web to have control over their data," says the DTP website.

This initiative was launched in 2017 with the aim of creating a service-to-service data portability platform so that all people on the web can easily move their data among online service providers whenever they wish.

Those who are part of DTP subscribe that portability and interoperability are fundamental for innovation. "Making it easier for people to choose between services facilitates competition, trains people to try new services and allows them to choose the offer that best suits their needs," they say.

Precisely this is one of the main rights included in the General Data Protection Regulation (RGPD) of the European Union. Although this regulation came into force in 2016, since May 25 it is mandatory and, therefore, European citizens have the right to portability. This right allows you to request and receive personal data in a mechanical reading format to be able to send them to another data controller.

Until now, there were some doubts about how this right could be enforced. Something that DTP aims to provide for all users, and not only those of the EU. No matter what happened before, if the egg or the chicken, this project has received significant support with the accession of Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Twitter.

New data model
 
The implications of DTP and its support by large companies can be far-reaching. Not in vain, some say that DTP opens the door to a new way of doing things by technology companies.

One of the objectives of DTP is to get companies to use common data models in their systems. Now, each organization chooses the way in which it collects, stores and treats the information, which often means that the formats chosen by the companies are incompatible. This, for example, makes it difficult for users to re-import the data they exported.

To try to solve these failures, companies resort to what is known as API, small pieces of software that facilitate communication between applications and tools. But if this common data model is achieved, the need for these APIs can be reduced. Therefore, DTP works both in the design of this model and in the way of adapting existing services. It is what this project calls adapters.

However, the Data Transfer Project is still in its early stages of development. In fact, the project continues to "actively" seek that companies and organizations join the initiative. The code, in addition, is still under development, so it is still necessary to carry out many tests and verifications before this platform can be closed and concluded.

The current version supports the transfer of data for photos, mail, contacts, calendars and tasks. For this, it is based on the public APIs available from different technology companies.

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