European Commission awards MyData Global nonprofit for its work on data as a human right - one of nine impactful initiatives shaping the future of the internet

The global digital rights nonprofit MyData Global was one of nine organisations awarded by the European Commission with the the Next-Generation Internet award.

The award recognizes the most impactful European initiatives and individuals creating the human-centric, trustworthy and sustainable internet.

The award is given to MyData Global for its work on “Data as human right” in Barcelona, Spain at the 4YFN (4 Years from Now) conference, one of the largest startup events in Europe and part of the Mobile World Congress.

“In the last few years, we’ve been flooded by scandals regarding data leaks. The GDPR is a great starting point for improvement, but it alone is not enough. We want to see individuals given self-determination of their data and also want to see the development of new businesses and innovations based on personal data,” explains MyData General Manager Teemu Ropponen.

Ethical management of personal data is one of the key issues of the future internet

"The time is now ripe for an organisation that seeks to enable a more sustainable and balanced digital society globally. The MyData movement is dedicated to placing the human at the heart of all this data talk. Personal data has enormous potential for making our lives easier and our societies better. And, when used in a way that is respectful of individuals and the standards of fairness, personal data also creates enormous opportunities for new business and innovations," illustrates MyData Global Chair Sarah Medjek.

MyData is an initiative to help individuals manage and reuse their personal data, currently controlled nearly exclusively by businesses and government agencies.

MyData is both an alternative vision and set of guiding technical principles for developing digital services that give individuals more control over how their personal data is used.

“In China, personal data is used by the state for surveillance of its citizens. Some Silicon Valley tech giants advance surveillance capitalism, in which personal data is used in ways often unknown to the user. We want to advance a European alternative, in which individuals decide how our data is used and benefit from sharing that data. We encourage European leaders and companies to lead the way towards more ethical practices”, Ropponen demands.

The global community developing and promoting MyData was recently formalised as an international nonprofit organisation. Before the official establishment of the association, the community already had activities in more than 20 countries.

In just over 4 months, MyData Global has gotten well over 500 members, including 70 organisations, from over 40 countries on six continents. MyData Global headquarters are in Helsinki, Finland.

Join MyData Global

MyData Global’s mission is to empower individuals by improving their right to self-determination regarding their personal data. The human-centric paradigm aims at a fair, sustainable, and prosperous digital society, where the sharing of personal data is based on trust as well as a balanced and fair relationship between individuals and organisations.

The mission is outlined in the MyData Declaration. Individuals and organisations interested in the mission are welcomed to join the movement and read more at mydata.org.