[Chapter-delegates] EU Data Protection Reform + cryptocurrencies

[Elver Loho]

In case anyone missed this particular piece of news, IRS has regulated
Bitcoin as property:

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/03/why-bitcoin-can-no-longer-work-as-a-virtual-currency-in-1-paragraph/359648/

This is also the position that Estonia's tax authority has taken.

As for Bitcoin and data protection, then you've pointed out the right
relevant clause. I talked to the people at Estonia's Data Protection
Inspectorate and as far as they know, this topic has never been
discussed in that context. Since I'm a member of their advisory board,
I asked that it be put on the agenda of our next meeting, which is on
April 15th. Will probably be smarter then.

Best,
Elver
.ee

elver.loho at gmail.com
+372 5661 6933
skype: elver.loho


On Thu, Mar 27, 2014 at 11:47 AM, Halbersztadt Jozef (jothal)
<jozef.halbersztadt at gmail.com> wrote:
> 1. I guess since Bitcoin is now officially considered property, data
> processing here would fall under the clause "necessary for the
> execution of a contract" in Article 6(1).
> In practical terms, I would anyway safely assume the Data Protection
> Authorities would be really hesitant to start any action against
> virtual currencies and prefer to leave it to the banking and tax
> authorities.
>
> 2. If there really was a problem with Bitcoin and DP law, it would
> already be there under existing legislation. Nothing to do with the
> reform.
>
> Best
> Józef Halbersztadt
> --
> 'JotHal' jozef [dot] halbersztadt [at] gmail [dot] com
> Internet Society Poland http://www.isoc.org.pl
>
>
> 2014-03-26 21:28 GMT+01:00 Elver Loho <elver.loho at gmail.com>:
>> European Commission is preparing a (highly controversial) data
>> protection reform package, which some of you may be familiar with.
>>
>> I was preparing for Friday's govt-organized meetup on the subject when
>> I took a break to read the news and came across an article about
>> Bitcoin's #2 user Hal Finney on Forbes and suddenly it clicked:
>> Bitcoin's entire protocol and structure, with its public blockchain,
>> are wholly and entirely incompatible with the data protection reform
>> package.
>>
>> The public blockchain includes a ton of personal data, which cannot be
>> deleted or removed, because the entire protocol of this
>> cryptocurrency, and of other cryptocurrencies, is built on the
>> assumption that this data cannot be deleted or removed. The underlying
>> mathematics does not allow for a "right to be forgotten", nor for a
>> revocation of consent or any such nonsense. Any services built on top
>> of Bitcoin will invariably process huge amounts of personal data as
>> defined by the proposed reform package.
>>
>> We're talking about a cryptocurrency with a current market cap of 7.3
>> billion USD. As far as I was able to find out googling, nobody has
>> ever even mentioned the data protection reform in the same article
>> with any cryptocurrency.
>>
>> And while this may not be an issue when it comes to personal use of
>> Bitcoin, I'm pretty sure that if Brussels starts to regulate Bitcoin
>> from the standpoint of the upcoming data protection package, we can
>> say goodbye to any and all kind of cryptocurrency innovation happening
>> in the European Union, maybe globally.
>>
>> Has anyone on this list given some thought to this aspect of the data
>> protection reform package or is there anyone else here, who is
>> familiar with both the reform package and with cryptocurrency
>> architecture to give an informed opinion on the subject?
>>
>> If I'm right, this argument might affect the fate of the reform
>> package or of Bitcoin to a significant degree. I kinda hope I'm wrong.
>>
>> Best,
>> Elver
>> .ee
>>
>> elver.loho at gmail.com
>> +372 5661 6933
>> skype: elver.loho
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