Infographic: Inside the self-sovereign identity revolution

By Joy Lim Shirley Tay

GovInsider takes a look at four countries' efforts to give users more control over their data.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, creator of the World Wide Web, believes the online world has gone astray. Tech giants like Facebook and Google hold too much power and personal data, he says.

Enter self-sovereign digital identity: a decentralised identity system that gives users control over elements that make up their digital identity – such as their email or phone number – and lets them choose how they share their data.

Berners-Lee has founded a company, Inrupt, that does this through personal data pods. Companies can access personal data with the user's permission via a secure link, but will not be able to store it. Inrupt is piloting projects with several agencies, such as Britain's National Health Service and the government of Flanders, Belgium.

In this handy infographic, GovInsider breaks down the benefits of self-sovereign ID, and showcases four government's efforts to roll it out.