Mydex Charter

Mydex's mission is to help individuals realise the value of their personal data.

• By 'realise' we mean realise as in insight and understanding and realise as in making real; achieving.
• Value, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder, but for Mydex 'value' includes the emotional and psychological benefits arising from a sense of safety and control, the practical benefits of being able to get stuff done quicker and easier, the ability to make and/or save money, to gain a deeper insight into one's own behaviours, to make (and implement) better decisions, and to achieve more in one's life.

Mydex does this by:

a)   providing individuals with personal data stores and related services that help individuals collect, store, manage, and share their own data in ways they can control.

b)   by acting as the foundation of an ecosystem of personal information management services – services that enable the individual's information to deliver value to them under their control.

Helping individuals realise the value of their data includes a recognition that the data individuals assemble into their personal data store is a personal asset with practical, personal and commercial value. Like every asset, it needs to be maintained, protected and secured, developed and used.

The word 'asset' implies ownership. Mydex does not talk about 'individuals owning their own data' because legally, it's hard to claim ownership of a piece of information that is shared: a record of a transaction for example. However, the collections and combinations of data that individuals create throughout their lives in their data stores is unique to them, and Mydex aims to give individuals the equivalent benefits of 'ownership' of these unique assemblies of data: effective control over how it (or parts of it) is shared and used; rights to the benefits that accrue.

Mydex recognises its role as an enabler of this new personal data ecosystem and as the foundation and core that preserves its integrity. This extends to ensuring that Subscribing organisations and service providers connecting to the ecosystem – and to individuals' personal data stores – accept and abide by the principles and practice of personal data empowerment.

Mydex reserves the right to take necessary and appropriate action to prevent and stop any abuses or 'gaming' of the system which threatens to undermine its ability to deliver on its mission.

As a Community Interest Company, Mydex's prime purpose is to pursue its social mission of helping individuals realise the value of their personal data. It is committed to remaining commercially viable and to delivering benefits to all parties in the ecosystem. The core purpose of its commercial operation is to support its social mission: to remain sustainable, independent and able to invest in its mission.

Mydex cannot, has no need to and does not wish to see the data in individuals' personal data stores. Its design reflects this. Mydex provides the platform, the data architecture and related services to help individuals gather, store, use and share their data safely and securely, and easily.

Mydex works for, and on behalf of the individual - as the individual's 'agent' – in the field of managing personal data. Mydex anticipates and welcomes the emergence of a diverse and interoperable range of personal data services. To this end Mydex recognises certain rights and responsibilities of the participants in the ecosystem it enables.

Rights pertaining to the Individual accepted by all

• Individuals’ right to define the use of and nature of data shared (for example via Subscribing organisations/3rd parties accessing/using an individual’s data and signing the individual’s ‘ data sharing agreement’)
• Individuals’ right to data portability, into or out of Mydex. This portability could be one time or ongoing, batch or online, and across different formats.
• Individuals’ rights to acquire proofs of claim and share them as they see fit,
• Individuals’ right to create and control digital identities to meet their needs
• Individuals’ right to view, share (and revoke), update, delete data
• * to do so in perpetuity on an enduring / permanent basis
• * to maintain current, historic and past versions

Obligations pertaining to all participants except individuals using the platform

• Obligations of transparency regarding use, loss, misuse or breach of data
• Obligations of audit and verification on all parties connecting into the platform initially and on an ongoing basis throughout their period of connection.
• * This excludes the individual who can have a PDS with little or no identity or intent verification
  • An individual connecting to act as a service provider to other individuals or other subscribers would be subject to audit and verification
• Acceptance of the principle that the service is available to all with no potential for exclusivity arrangements except under Mydex board-agreed criteria that  help individuals become empowered more rapidly and in any case such exclusivity would only be short term.
• Enduring obligations not to inhibit the growth and development of the platform and its capabilities designed to lead to the empowerment of individuals.

Rights pertaining to Mydex CIC accepted by All

• The rights of Mydex CIC as owner and controller of the data architecture of Mydex Master PDS Data Schema and the process of management of it regardless of who actually develops it.