Chair of Mobile Business & Multilateral Security

Self Data Protection in Online-Commerce (SIOC)

Abstract
sioc logo high res 768x512The aim of the project Self Privacy in Online Commerce (SIOC) is the design of an anonymous approach to online shopping in accordance to stakeholders’ requirements and business models while implementing data protection by design and data protection by default as essential principles of EU data protection rules. For this purpose, a vendor-independent architecture for anonymous shopping will be developed, allowing the buyers to manage and understand autonomously their user profiles by the means of virtual identities. To achieve a broad distribution, not only acceptance by the users is needed, but also by the other involved stakeholders, e.g. online-shop providers. Therefore, care will be taken to preserve existing business models (e.g. direct marketing) as far as possible.  

 

Start: 01-04-2016
Completion: 30-06-2019
Duration: 3 years
Type: BMBF Project
Website: http://www.sioc.eu/
 
Objective

E-Commerce is playing an increasingly important role for both, operators of shopping platforms and their customers. The forecasted revenue for the German E-Commerce market amounts to EUR 46.7 million, which is around 9% of the total retail sector. 30% of the online purchases in Germany are done via a mobile device.

Despite an increasing public awareness of the issue of data protection, nowadays only in the rarest cases customers are enabled to decide how and whether their personal information and buying behavior is stored and processed. 

Up to now individuals cannot manage the generation and utilisation of personal customer profiles. Data protection principles like data minimisation, informational self- determination and transparency seem to conflict in large parts with requirements and business models in Online-Commerce.

Based on this situation, the SIOC project’s vision is the improvement of the self-data protection in E-Commerce. SIOC will enable customers to perform the online-shopping process transparent, as anonymous as possible and following the principle of data thrift/minimization. At the same time online platform providers will still have the possibility to submit personalized offers and recommendations based on pseudonymized, voluntary aggregated customer profiles. Moreover, in case of fraudulent behavior, the customers’ pseudonym can be resolved to clearly identify customers.

In summary, SIOC’s objective is the design of an anonymous approach to online shopping in accordance to stakeholders’ requirements and business models to achieve the best compromise between these conflicting interests while implementing data protection by design and data protection by default as essential principles of EU data protection rules.

Consortium
  • Cleopa GmbH
  • Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main
  • Hochschule Zittau/Görlitz
  • OXID eSales AG
  • PIN Mail AG
  • Payever GmbH
Team